


Prompts and Situations

by ehenderson2461



Category: None - Fandom
Genre: Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Character Death, F/M, How Do I Tag, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Mild Sexual Content, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, What Have I Done, please tell me if there's anything else i need to tag, tw: death, tw: ed, tw: infertility, tw: self-harm
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2019-12-16
Packaged: 2020-05-01 16:33:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 23,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19181653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ehenderson2461/pseuds/ehenderson2461
Summary: This is just a huge compilation of prompts and situational dialogues that I decided to write from, and it helps keeps my writing brain active while I'm in university and over the summer break. Literally, all these pages will be is practice on how to write various things, ie. feelings, arguments, and other scenes that might be precarious to write. I will warn you that there will be mature content as well so as long as you, as a reader, are chill with it then be my guest. As a writer though, please do not attack me for the things I write; they do not have to be to your liking and I do not have to pander to your wants. However, if you have a want for something, feel free to request something in the comments! :)-E





	1. Prompt 1- “For me, a smile, I beg.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A father and his daughter wait.

The hospital room was empty except for the young woman, Abby, asleep in the armchair and her father, John, lying quietly in the bed, monitors pulsing on either side of him. Rain spattered onto the windows as the storm swelled outside, the older man gazing out the window as he felt his breathing begin to thicken. He hadn’t been scared of death since his wife had passed, Abby’s mother, and had actually come to expect it at any time. He was old and tired and ready to go, but his daughter wouldn’t let him slip any farther away from her in this last little bit. She had become very attached to him after his wife’s death, doing much of the opposite of what he was doing. Where he was unafraid, she was guarded and overly cautious, limiting him to non-rigorous activities and nearly trapping him in his house. This hospital visit was the most he’d been outside in a while, and he was grateful in a funny way. John just wished that it were under better circumstances. His daughter was a good woman with a good family, and he would miss them all dearly, but it couldn’t be helped that it was indeed his time to go. He was seventy-six with multiple organ failures, his mind was slipping, and his heart was giving out. A crack of thunder started her awake and she roused in the chair, looking out the window and then to her father, a knowing expression of pain written on her face.  
“Why now Dad? Can’t you just stay a little while longer?”  
John smiled at his daughter and motioned for her to come over to him, wrapping the blanket around her tighter as she leaned into his chest.  
“I have to go now because it’s my time. Heaven is down a soul and needs a new one.”  
Abby nodded and clutched onto the hem of one of his sleeves desperately, as if her father was going to physically get up and walk out of the room. She sniffled into his chest and laid her ear over his heart, listening to the soft beating as he continued quietly,  
“I’m so ready for rest, and what’s better than the rest up there?”  
“Being with me and my family, don’t you want that?”  
His heart broke for her,  
“Of course, but some things have to be had for a time only and then let go.”  
Abby ground her teeth and sighed a bit, nodding and holding her father tight. He peered down at her face and cupped her cheek in one calloused, gentle hand.  
“Can you do me one more favour before I go?”  
“Anything, Dad.”  
John let slip a single tear and smiled broadly at his daughter,  
“For me, a smile, I beg.”  
Abby slid off the bed and rested her head in his hand, smiling brightly up at him and breathing deeply. John rested his head on the crinkling pillow of the hospital bed and relaxed all the way down to his feet. Abby swore she saw him leave as the monitors screeched in the background of a flurry of staff. She gathered her things from the chair, gave him one last kiss, and left the hospital to give her family the news. There was a sense of calm that she couldn’t really explain, but it stayed when she smiled, and that put her at peace as well.


	2. Prompt 2- “You can leave, I’m used to it by now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A girl realises she is worth more.

Chase had a best friend, Molly. They were teens when they met and they were inseparable ever since. College and men and women and grades and parents were bogging the pair down, however. Through that though, they never lost the ability to be able to talk to one another, whether they had to drive or walk, it didn’t bother them. Molly had a boyfriend who she knew in high school, and they had been together for a bit of time now. Chase was just getting over a girl who he’d been off and on with for some time after he drew a line and said that was it for him. She would come over and hang out with him, telling him about what she’d been up to, glossing over the new bruises she’d wear over to his apartment underneath her makeup. Molly would have too much to drink to hide her fake smile and he’d have to drive her back to her apartment so she didn’t get stolen off the street. She’d thank him and wait as long as she possibly could before walking back into her shared home, blood drained from her face as she waved over her shoulder at him. Chase hated that guy so much, but he couldn’t tell her that when the good times were there. She’d defend him and say “it’s not that bad” and then go home to him, always coming back later that week with one thing or another. They had made plans this weekend to stay in and listen to records on the turntable and have a few beers, but when 8 o’clock rolled around, and then 9 o’clock, and no Molly, Chase felt his stomach drop into his shoes. She’d rather be dead than late and he knew it, so something was definitely up. Her apartment was a few minutes from his, but he had no idea if her boyfriend was home or not so he couldn’t just go get her. Chase threw a raincoat on and started out the door when Molly came teetering up the cobbled path, soaked to the bone and making no sound. He ran down the path, nearly slipping, squinting through the rain as he grabbed her and led her back inside the house. Molly was shaking and her hair was plastered to her face with the rain as she walked silently to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her and letting out a wail much to Chase’s shock. He heard her pounding on the walls and sobbing loudly, but as long as nothing shattered, she’d be okay. After a while, he heard her still and unlocked the door, looking at her intently. Molly was a mess; her nose and mouth were bloody, one eye swelled shut, obvious rings on her arms and neck. Chase wanted to be sick. He never wanted this for her. She just stood in front of him and breathed slowly, nails digging into her forearms where she held them to her body as tight as she could. Molly didn’t meet his eyes out of something that tasted like copper and shame, and it filled her throat up all the way down to her stomach. She swallowed thickly and struggled out,  
“Go ahead, tell me I’m an idiot. Or you can leave, I’m used to it by now. I should’ve done something, called someone, I-”  
Chase grabbed her tight and held her in his chest, head resting on hers as he sunk to the ground with her in his lap. He held her hands in his, threading their fingers and kissing her knuckles.  
“I just wish you didn’t have such a good heart. You’ve always been so good at loving broken things and just taking shit from everyone Moll. I’m so over you getting the short end of it. Let me take care of you, please?”  
She shook in his arms as she nodded, hands tightening in his as he laid a kiss in her hair. Chase heaved her off the ground and set her in the bathtub, pulling her soaked sweats and t-shirt off of her gingerly as he uncovered more and more damage. How she at 130 pounds and standing at five feet and three inches could take so much from someone so much bigger than her was a mystery to him. Chase ran his fingertips over her bruised legs and kissed the top of one of her knees as he turned the water on. He helped her out of the rest of her clothes and resented that some of her old scars looked much too new for his liking, as well as her protruding hipbones and ribcage. Molly wrapped her arms around her knees as he slid into the tub in front of her, still in his clothes, but he didn’t care at this point. He reached up and got his soaps and a stray cup from the counter so he could help her wash up. Molly turned her back to him and rested against his knees gently, tipping her head back so he could wash her hair. Chase rubbed her temples as the water steamed up from behind him, catching it in the cup and pouring it slowly over her hair, worried when it came out with a tinge of blood. He ran his fingers through her hair and found a cut from her left side hairline into her roots about four inches, but it wasn’t deep thankfully. Chase closed his eyes before continuing, lathering up her hair and swatting her hands away in protest when she tried to stop him because “shit, that stung”. Chase combed her hair out and winced when it came out in chunks.  
“I’m cutting it off.”  
“What?”  
“Give me your scissors, Chase.”  
He looked at her open hand and reached over into his counter drawer, handing her a pair of hair shears, astounded as she gathered it up in one motion, cutting it off in another. Molly gave them back to him and said,  
“Could you just make it straight along the bottom?”  
Chase nodded and trimmed the ends that stuck down too far, throwing the chunks of hair into the bin and watching her run her fingers through her now short hair. The first smile of the evening cracked across her face and she relaxed once more against him with a sigh. He looked at her now peaceful face and rinsed her hair out, handing her a washcloth and his body wash, letting her finish up and get her face better than he probably could. The water in the tub was foamy and red with fresh and dry blood both, a bit startling to say the least. Chase kissed her cheek and stood up, leaving his wet clothes in the sink as he went to his room for towels and clean clothes. Everything would be much too big for her, but he didn’t think she’d mind all that much. He went back into the bathroom and helped her out of the tub, draining it and wrapping a towel around her, setting another one on the edge of the sink for her hair. Chase sat down on the toilet and helped her into the clothes he had for her, her hands resting on his shoulders for balance. He led her back into his room and bundled her up on the bed, pulling her close and holding her tightly. Molly looked at him with his eyes closed and just studied his face, freckles she didn’t know he had, little scars, the chap in his lips, his short facial hair. A smile broke on her face as she began to cry again. Not because she was sad, quite the opposite; she had never felt this safe with anyone in her life and it was overwhelming. He opened his eyes and looked down at her softly, resting his forehead on hers and nodding as she closed her eyes. Chase smiled and kissed her softly, his thumb rubbing her cheek as they pulled away, the rain outside muted by the covers and the hum of the heater in the background.


	3. Prompt 3- “It’s coming Hell out here, and you wanna stop and feel the rain? Right now?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A boy and his sister are sidetracked.

It had been raining this whole drive and it was beginning to grate on Jackson’s nerves. His little sister, Emmy, however was as happy as a lark, playing with the water trails on the outside of the car window. He had been driving for about an hour, leaving his parent’s house in the back mirror of the car as quick as he could. Jackson and Emmy’s parents fought ceaselessly and he had finally had enough of his little sister being in the middle of them. She wasn’t a bartering chip, but she was only five, so she didn’t have to deal with this while he had a say in it. He was taking her to their aunt’s place out of state and it had been raining since they crossed the state line into Missouri. Jackson pulled off at a Gas and Sip and filled the car, following Emmy in and getting some things to eat for the rest of the drive. He opened the door of the car and looked around for her, coming up empty and panicking a bit when he didn’t see her readily. But there she was, standing out in the rain with her arms up and her face towards the sky, absolutely soaking wet and smiling as wide as the sky with one tooth missing. Jackson grabbed his jacket from the passenger seat and held it over his head sa he yelled over to her,  
“It’s coming Hell out here and you wanna stop and feel the rain? Right now?”  
Emmy turned to face him and giggled as she toddled over to him,  
“C’mon Jackie, it’s fun!”  
Jackson looked at his baby sister, pigtails dripping with water and her little socked feet bouncing as she caught the raindrops in her hands and smiled at her, throwing his coat back in the car and running out to her. He smiled down at her and tossed her onto his shoulders, opening his mouth and tipping his head back as she had been doing. Running away had its perks, he guessed.


	4. Prompt 4- “I was told you’d be he- well, what’s this then?” (a little nsfw)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I noted, I bit nsfw, but a boy discovers something.

Lewis walked the stairs up to Tori’s apartment, who was hilariously his English literature tutor as well as his almost girlfriend. They had been talking for some time now and they had both been very attracted to each other, but they were trying to take it as easy as they possibly could, what with college and not being available consistently. She was taking twenty hours a semester and he was a double major who played college baseball, but they spent as much time with one another as was possible for them and their schedules. Tori helped him with packing and laundry and things like that, and he helped her know when to relax or when to buckle down. He was increasingly intelligent, something that made it easy for them to connect, and she had impeccable taste in music, making it even easier for them to have long car rides together. She loved going to games and he went to her concerts to watch her perform, it was pretty 50/50. Tonight however, he had been working on final exams for as long as his coffee-fueled brain could remember and he had too many mistakes that he just couldn’t stand to proof-read, and she was the sharpest eye for error he knew. He waved hi to her roomate Elissa as he passed her in the kitchen, the always cheery girl smiling broadly as she continued cooking something at the stove. He leaned against the counter and smiled back at her, quirking an eyebrow up,  
“Hey Elissa, is Tori in her room right now, do you know?”  
Elissa nodded and pointed with the spatula she had in hand as she replied,  
“Yep, should be down there as we speak, I’m sure you know which door.”  
He nodded and walked down the hall to the last room and rapped on the door lightly,   
“Hey T, you in there? We’ve got a meeting tonight.”  
A muffled “shit” and a light crash sounded from inside the room, a chuckle working its way out of his chest as she stood behind the door to answer,  
“Hey babe, um, now’s not a great time, could you give me like fifteen minutes and then come back?”  
Lewis furled his brow as he looked at her face, flushed and looking a little embarrassed.  
“No, just lemme in, if you’re naked then it’s not like I haven’t seen that before.”  
Tori giggled a little and rolled her eyes, closing the door with a groan. He knew she left it unlocked, she did this sometimes if he caught her in the middle of things. Lewis pushed the door in slowly,  
“I was told you’d be he- well, what’s this then?”  
She was seated on her short bed in what seemed to be very, very tasteful lingerie, red-faced and wringing her hands in her lap as she bit her lip. Her hair was washed and curled and she even cleaned up a bit. He pulled her desk chair around and sat in front of her, smirking gently and watching her grow more and more aware of her predicament. Tori looked up at him and hesitated as she spoke quietly,  
“I-I didn’t remember that y-you were coming over tonight for work, so I wanted t-to try some things on that I bought.”  
Even when he was sitting, he loomed over her a bit, and it intimidated her to no extent. Lewis smiled wryly at her and moved a piece of her hair behind her ear, looking her over and breathing slowly. He was definitely pushing himself to keep his cool as this was perhaps the most vulnerable she had ever been with him. Sure, they’d been swimming and had changed around each other, but he hadn’t gotten to really look at her in this sort of setting. Tori had really taken her time on preening tonight and it really showed in her skin and the way she smelled, like cinnamon and sugar and really good laundry detergent. He couldn’t help himself.  
“So, who are these for, angel?”  
Tori cleared her throat and looked up at the ceiling as she bounced her knee,  
“Maybe for you on our six month.”  
Lewis raised his eyebrows a bit as he felt his smile falter a little. He was incredibly flattered if he were to be honest with himself. As many girls as he had known, he had never really taken this much time with anyone else in the way that he was with her. She didn’t want anything right off the bat that was too serious, she was very shy and reserved about her body, but she didn’t have many reservations about talking about what she liked or wanted. They had been on a long car ride together and lots of things had been shared that night from cigarettes to favourite songs, to preferences on pain. Needless to say, they spent a good long while discussing how neither of them looked the type to be interested in S&M. However, that’s as far as that conversation had gotten between the pair of them. Lewis told himself that something about this girl was much too good to give up, so he took everything at her pace and whatever she said she felt comfortable with. That didn’t mean that they didn’t bounce ideas off one another though, quite the opposite; she encouraged him to be as open with her as she was going to be with him, and it did actually help them get to know each other in a way most people don’t get to see. The trust and honesty brought them together, and the car rides that they spilled truth during only spiced things up for them. Tori sighed and stood with a little look to her feet that he recognised as shame, and began walking over to the joint bathroom. Lewis caught her arm and spun around in the chair, looking up at her and pursing his lips as she tried to loose his grip from her to no avail. Her eyes were glossy and she turned away from him, but he gently pulled her closer into his arms and held her to him, laying a kiss on her chest deftly,  
“You know you didn’t have to do this for me. I love you in sweats and one of my shirts that’s way too big on you. But don’t think this isn’t well received.”  
Tori rolled her eyes and tried to pull away from him, but his hold didn’t budge as he looked up at her with a sense of adoration. She did this for him.  
“Let me say thank you.”  
Her brows knit together as she watched him stand and put the chair back at the desk, sitting her down on the edge of the bed and standing in front of her. Lewis cupped her face in his hands and went down to his knees on the floor in front of her, kissing her softly and leaning into her a bit. He could feel her relax and took that as an invitation to wrap his arms around her waist, sighing quietly and deepening the kiss a bit as her hands came up to grip his forearms. Her heart was in her ears as he continued, untying the teddie she had on and sliding it down her shoulders, looking up at her for permission.  
“Please.”  
She only uttered one word through her now trembling mouth as she watched him take her in, seeing her undressed for the first time flooring him. Tori had always joked about herself and how she had horrible body issues, but he had no clue why as he looked at her; the swell of her hips, the bumps of her ribs above her cinched waist, the freckles dotting her chest, how her clavicle dipped so deep and was so beautifully pronounced, scars, folds, all Tori. All his. He decided he was damn lucky right then and there. He kissed her above her heart and laid his head on her chest, arms around her as he listened to the pounding of her normally steady heart. This was terrifying to her and he understood why; firsts are always so risky. It was like giving someone an egg and saying “now don’t break it” when everything about human instinct says the exact opposite. He swore to not shatter this for her, he knew how much it meant, he had spoken to her enough to know that this was everything she feared. Tori was scared of men, the very idea of them sent her reeling. How an entire sex could just not care as much as they did astounded her. Lewis was determined to prove her wrong about all of it. He pressed a kiss on her breastbone and flattened his palms on her back, feeling her breathe and arch into his touch as he ran his fingers over her thighs and down her calves. Tori tipped her head to one side and hummed quietly as she relaxed under his mouth, feeling him inch lower, feeling her own trembling and cursing it. She knew he wouldn’t do anything to hurt her, to make her feel unwanted, to make her feel like she couldn’t trust him. And she did, but it didn’t help the tension in her legs and back. It’s not that she hadn’t been naked with a man before, it’s that she hadn’t been this specific type of naked in front of a man; bare and vulnerable and comfortable. She’d been with men that didn’t care for her and only wanted things that they could get from any woman who was willing enough. Tori was just about over men when they met, and did in fact categorise him as just another guy looking to warm his bed for a night, but he proved her wrong when he made her a cup of coffee after a night of just being around for him to talk to because “wouldn’t anyone say thank you?”. That was about the time she changed her mind. It was just too charming to be real, so she decided to keep herself off limits to see if he would crack. No such luck; it had been six months and not so much as talking about sex got him to ask her for it. She didn’t know how to react other than to show that she was grateful, but here he was showing her instead. Lewis’ fingers curled under her knees as he looked up at her,  
“May I see all of you or would you rather wait on that?”  
Tori stared at him as thoughts ran around her mind as fast as they could, all of them agreeing with him except on little one that wanted to see what he meant. She shook her head and tried her hardest to relax, allowing him to part her legs as he still looked up at her, his eyes not moving from hers as he kissed the inside of her thighs. She bit her lip and closed her eyes, the most shy she had ever felt she might add, and he moved inward. A successive tremor shook down her body and she gasped quietly as she felt the short hairs of his beard abrade against the softest part of her body, the newness of the feeling causing her to flinch away a bit from him, his hands coming up to hold her legs where they were firmly. Lewis closed his eyes and hummed against her quietly, taking in every one of her movements as he ministered to her delicately, silently praising himself and then immediately taking it back. He knew that this wasn’t his time to be proud, this was when he should focus on her. She wasn’t bold enough to let any noise escape her mouth, trapping it behind her teeth and a thin veil of self-control that made her hands clench into the sheets of her bedspread. He lathed his tongue over her gently and looked up at her,  
“You can be a little louder if you like, Elissa is in the kitchen and she was dressed to go out.”  
Tori bit her cheeks and called out,  
“Hey, Elissa?”  
When no answer resounded back, he continued with his work and a soft moan worked its way out of her chest finally. Okay, maybe he was a little proud of himself now. He did so love the sounds she was making, from the gasps when he changed rhythm to the prolonged groan when she finally laid back on the bed to let him work easier. He watched her face contort and relax as her pleasure mounted, moving with her as her fingers wound into his hair instead of the blanket. Tori could feel a fire building in her chest as she raised her hips, pulling her hands from his head and tapping him on the arm. He shook his head and held her in place, that single sensation alone sending her reeling as the pressure hit her like a wave. She arched hard and cried out, eyes fluttering shut as she let herself feel freely, Lewis’ eyes never leaving her face so he could memorise the look of pure relaxation that wrote itself across her face. He gave her a final kiss as he laid up on the bed with her, watching her come down from the high, red-faced and breathing deeply. She rolled on her side and curled into his chest, hiding her face and holding tight to him. He picked her face up to meet his and tipped his head to one side, smiling at her and watching her giggle.  
“You know, this isn’t how I thought this night would go.”  
“And neither did I, I thought it’d be me and you being bored about essays and all that.”  
She smiled up at him and punched him in the chest playfully, pulling the blankets up over them both and wrapping around him softly. He kissed her softly and ran his hands through her hair, curls catching on his fingers and laying back down behind her head. She watched him and looked away a bit sitting up on an elbow and speaking softly,  
“Thank you. I wanted to say that for being with me for such a long time and dealing with all my bullshit.”  
“You don’t have to say thank you to me, I wanted to make you feel good for making me happy. Your bullshit is just an extra perk.”  
Tori gasped mockingly and laughed quietly, giving him a kiss and laying her head on his chest.  
“Essays can wait for a while, I suppose.”


	5. Prompt 5- “Save you breath, little one.” (a little nsfw as well)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, as noted, a mite nsfw, but a man and his plaything.

He had her tied up beautifully. Intricate knotwork and ropes lined all over her body highlighted her curves, red marks emanating from the sides of the tensor markings where he had bound her maybe a bit too tightly. Darien knew how much she enjoyed being defenseless as well as how much she liked being the one with little to no control. He had seated himself in an armchair and was reading a book while he kept a steady eye on both the lady in the room and the words on the page. Hannah was seated on her knees to one side, arms behind her back with a blindfold on and a gag in her mouth, red-faced and as calm as she had been all week. She had called him, crying and overwhelmed,  
“Please, I’m sorry I ask for so much, I just-”  
He stopped her gently,  
“Save your breath, little one. I’d be more than happy to take care of you, love; let me come get you and we can take care of this once we get back to my place. Understood?”  
Hannah sighed and agreed, happy that he could fit her into such a busy schedule. As she sat peacefully on the floor, she didn’t focus on the discomfort in her joints or the ropes beginning to chafe around her wrists; she focused on why this was happening. He could bring her out of the ever-busy life they both lived whenever she asked, even if she felt it was sometimes too much of her to ask, and then reassure her that he’d continue to do this wonderful thing for her. Hannah never regretted signing the contract. She never regretted marrying him. She did regret not taking his name though, it sounded so good behind hers. The floor creaked as he stood, her attention piqued but she dare not move. She could hear the muffled thud of his shoes on the carpet as he walked in circles around her, the blindfold not giving her any leeway underneath or through to peek, and the gag making it near impossible to speak out (not like she wanted to). Darien stalked around her, the air growing hot in the study with the tension building as the silence continued. He wrapped a hand around her slender throat and felt her swallow instinctively as he tightened his grip, undoubtedly making her see stars if she could see. He ran a finger against her jawline and looked at her, beautiful and flushed pink, her cheeks only made pinker by the dying light of the day and the red of the carpet. Darien released her throat and smiled as she teetered a bit on her knees, breathing in deeply and regaining her balance as she sat back straight. Her heart felt like it would burst as he leaned in to graze the shell of her ear,  
“You’re being so good for me, angel. Can you keep being a pretty girl for a bit longer?”  
Hannah smiled as he took out her gag, a thin line of drool escaping as she spoke roughly,  
“Anything for Daddy.”


	6. Prompt 6- “Watch and see what happens if you try.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A party and a confrontation.

He was sitting at the table watching her mingle with her friends, happy just to tag along and watch her enjoy herself, something that seemed to evade her lately. Jacob smiled as she laughed at herself, her cheeks glowing pink and the blue light of her phone as she showed her friends pictures of when they hung out at the lake together. Mia had been away for too long and relished in being back with everyone she knew, summer always got her down. He loved seeing her giggle and be herself with people she enjoyed being around. Sadly though, she couldn’t get along with everyone, no matter how amiable and likeable she could be. The house party was pretty full when they got there, but he had assured her that he’d stick by in case things got hairy, shooing her away to have some fun for once. Jacob had noticed that when they arrived a few of the holier-than-thou classmen’s cars were parked down the road. Mia had shrugged it off and merely said to ignore them as much as possible, giving him a smile and rolling her eyes saying,  
“Not like they really matter anyways, right?”  
He agreed but kept his eye open for any foul play or the like. It was pretty late now and people had been here for a few hours, drinks going down as quickly as the sun was, making for a pretty rowdy scene. Mia had settled in close on the couch with Jacob, playing a card game with some of their friends and not paying attention to who was coming down the stairs. He groaned and laid his head on her shoulder, smacking her arm and pulling her into his lap, speaking quietly to her,  
“I cannot believe she’s here.”  
Mia’s brow furrowed as she looked around, eyes darting down as she caught sight of a mutually not so well liked girl. Allie wasn’t the most conserved girl to say the least, and she hadn’t exactly made a good example of herself in his or Mia’s eyes. Jacob had dished the dirt to Mia after she had run into her one day, getting a pretty fake vibe off of her when she talked with her and understanding completely when he explained it all. She kissed him on the cheek as he wrapped his arms around her, speaking softly,  
“Just don’t pay attention, you know I’ll be happy to take care of it if anything comes to it.”  
He nodded and laid a kiss on her neck as she slid back out of his lap. Her cup was empty so she handed him her cards, gesturing to play her hand for her as she walked over to the kitchen. Jacob sat forward and played a turn, grimacing as Allie sat down on the couch to his left, obviously drunk as given away by the sway in her upper body even though she was sitting. She took a sip and sat her cup on the deck of cards on the table, everyone in the circle pretty much ignoring her and sending a glare her way as she leaned over to Jacob, talking in a slur,  
“You know, you could do so much better.”  
He sighed heavily and laid a few cards down, growing frustrated as she moved closer.  
“I could do things she couldn’t and you know it, I could totally fuck you.”  
The table went still as he sat rigid, heat building on his face as he spoke harshly to her,  
“Watch and see what happens if you try.”  
“Oh what, what’ll you do?”  
He drew his eyebrows in a knit and narrowed his eyes as he made himself a little more frightening,  
“Try it and I’ll break your jaw if yo-”  
“Thanks for playing my hand, baby.”  
Mia spoke quickly as she sat right back down in his lap, smiling thinly at Allie and chasing her off with a look. She ran a hand through his hair and raised her eyebrows at him,  
“You know, physical violence isn’t the consistent way to go, honey.”  
Jacob nodded and kissed her softly,  
“Don’t think I don’t know that you would pay good money to watch her get her ass handed to her.”  
Mia laughed and nodded in reply,  
“You right, but I’d be the one doing it if anybody.”  
He smiled up at her and knuckled her cheek,  
“That’s my girl.”


	7. Prompt 7- “I’ve got you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A whoops moment.

It was cold and hot all at once when I fell to the floor. It was a pinch to the wrong nerve on my neck that sent me tumbling into that vast, glimmering black of unconsciousness. He hadn’t meant to make me faint, he was just being playful, but I hadn’t eaten and he didn’t really know that. After the light seeped back into my eyes, then the panic came, fast and like a sweep of rain. I couldn’t hear him speaking to me for a good while as he picked me up and carried me to his bed, laying me down carefully and making me look at him squarely. I sat there shaking for a while, watching my hands with fear as the blood rushed back to my fingertips. His voice tuned back in through the haze of static and ringing noises, clearing out fully once I came back around.  
“I’ve got you, baby, are you okay? What just happened?”  
I looked up at him and shrugged softly, really too weak to do much else. He laid me down and wrapped me up in the blankets on his bed, kissing my forehead and rubbing my back a bit. I drifted off and swore I’d get help.


	8. Prompt 8- “Uninteresting people generally don’t have to say that.” (man, I love this one)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An interview.

It was interview day at the firm and he hadn’t had a single secretary come through yet that he couldn’t find a problem with. Edward Gray was a prominent lawyer in Los Angeles and had decided he was in desperate need of someone besides himself to do his books, including other work like memos and trivial things he couldn’t possibly be bothered with. However, he did think himself somewhat of a perfectionist and required someone that fit all of his qualifications and needs. One application had made him a little questionable though, a one Annalise Henry. Previously employed as a handful of odd jobs that didn’t really get her anywhere, unmarried, single household, no positions in any form of work like his. It wracked his brain why anyone with absolutely no experience in law practices, functions of offices like this, why would she apply knowing she might fail? It was brave. He liked brave. So he called her in off blind faith, her appointment scheduled for five, right after everyone had decided to call it a night and he would have a chance to talk to her himself. A soft knock rapped at his door nearly 10 minutes to the hour.  
“It’s open.”  
He responded and waited for her to enter, a meek woman entering wearing a blazer and a pencil skirt, short heels throwing off her height and her hair in a modest bob near her ears. Brown frizzy hair stuck up messily in a frame around her face and around the neat bun she had rolled at the base of her neck, her smile distracting from the fact that she had a run in her left stocking leg. Altogether, not a bad looking girl. Though again he wondered why apply when the failure seemed sure? She straightened out her skirt as she sat in the chair opposite him, taking his hand when he extended it in greeting to her,  
“Edward Gray, how do you do Mrs.- ?”  
“Oh it’s Miss actually, and my name is Annalise Henry, it’s a pleasure.”  
Her grip was sure of herself but wasn’t overpowering. Stop analysing her and begin the interview.  
“So what brought you into my offices today, if I may be so bold to ask?”  
She smiled and took a newspaper out of her purse, setting it on the desk and pointing gently,  
“Your advertisement called for a front desk worker, someone with good people skills, typing knowledge, and a willingness to do boring jobs. I’ve had my share of rush around jobs and I’m always up for new challenges.”  
Edward nodded and looked back over her file, grinning to himself stupidly as he cleared his throat.  
“Well, I must admit, you’re the first person today to bring the paper with you. So, how are your typing skills?”  
“Exemplary, I have very excellent references.”  
He nodded and smiled shortly at her, watching her cross her legs nervously and brushing a stray piece of hair back into her bun. For such a wreck, she was very unique, but he couldn’t pin down what it was exactly.  
“You intrigue me.”  
Annalise swallowed, her mouth running dry,  
“I’m not that interesting.”  
“Funny,” a flicker of a smile and a gaze that never wavered,“uninteresting people generally don’t have to say that.”  
Her face flushed deeply and she drew in her bottom lip, watching him closely as he stood from his big leather chair and moved around his desk to where she sat. Edward peered down his nose at her before leaning down close,  
“What are you trying so hard to hide?”  
Edward watched her stutter a bit before she just stopped trying, looking down at her lap and folding her hands politely. He tipped her face up and softened his expression a bit as he continued,  
“It is awfully boring work, you’ll only be doing very menial tasks so I hope boring works for you.”  
“I’d love boring, thank you sir.”  
His jaw tightened and he sat on the edge of the desk, watching her closely and pointing to a typewriter near the door in an adjacent room from his office space. Her eyes followed the line of his finger as she looked back to him,  
“That is your office, this is mine, you begin in the morning.”


	9. Prompt 9- “Are you ready?” (suggestive)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pain is doled out efficiently.

Annie trusted him with her life, quite willingly she might add, but she did have a very twisted way of trusting people in general. She tried not to judge right off the bat, but she did have a pretty bad history with getting burned after the fact. However, she was pretty sure he could kill her and she would say thank you after he was finished. Annie figured it’s how she got herself into the current predicament she was now fully seated in. Mason and she had been in a relationship for some time now and were pretty comfortable talking about one another’s bodies, as well as what they liked and disliked in a more intimate sense. Sure, it was uncomfortable at first, but after nearly three years, they were a bit more than accustomed to seeing and hearing about that. This time it felt very different though. Annie had been dancing around telling him about a few things for a while now and he was beginning to notice things about her attitude when he would bring them up. They weren’t exactly of the, shall we say, more tame persuasion; while she did trust him, she wasn’t here for bearing the little black corners of her soul. They had agreed to meet up that night after he got off work in order to discuss a few things about it, and she wasn’t particularly looking forward to it as she watched him pull into the driveway of her apartment. Annie glued herself to the seat of the wooden rocker she had been anxiously sitting in for a while now and waited for him to come to her, voting to stretch this out as much as she could rather than speed it along. Her legs shook and her hands froze underneath the arms of one of Mason’s too-big sweaters as he opened the door to her room, meeting her face with a smile and a gentle kiss. He sat down on the ottoman across from her at her vanity and shucked of his bag and overcoat, stretching the lines of his button-up shirt absolutely artistically. She drew her legs up into her lap and watched him pull out a small notebook from the front zipper of his bag, thumbing through it and clearing his throat a bit before looking up at her,  
“Now, I know you don’t wanna talk when you’re embarrassed, so I made it to where you won’t have to if you don’t want to. I read a bunch over the last week on a few topics so I have a list ready, all you have to do is shake your head yes or no or say kinda. I won’t ask for an explanation right off the bat, I’ll save it until we’re done. Are you ready?”  
Needless to say, Annie was quite impressed with his preparedness, so she nodded and he began.  
“I’ll give you a topic, you respond, super simple. So, let’s start with...pain.”  
Well, shit. A nod, albeit a very shy one.  
“Alright, lemme see...submission or domination, which is more your speed?”  
She pursed her lips and held up a single finger to indicate the first choice.  
“Submission, okay...name-calling, and this qualifies on either side.”  
Annie could feel her face turn colours and she nodded. A little hint of a smile crept onto his face and he continued,  
“Okay, how do you feel about being tied up?”  
She bit her lip and nodded, throwing the hood over her head and closing herself in a bit more securely.  
“Roleplay.”  
The nod came almost too quick for her liking and she blushed hotly. Mason chuckled a bit to himself and flipped the page.  
“Time for the weirder stuff now, do you like anything dealing with bodily fluids?”  
Annie furled her brow,  
“Explain.”  
“Fair enough; spit, excretions, wat-”  
“Oh good grief no, the only real bodily fluids I can stand are...you know.”  
Mason took a small note and winked at her cheekily.  
“That I do, now what about asphyxiation?”  
Annie’s eyes locked with his on that one as she nodded, her pulse unhumourously jumping into her throat.  
“I’ve only got a few more and then we can move on to talking about it, don’t worry too much...so, what about impact?”  
Annie nodded slowly but held up a hand,  
“Would that not classify as pain?”  
Mason sat back and thought for a moment before shaking his head and smiling up at her,  
“Not in this go around, sugar.”  
Annie chewed the inside of her cheek and hated that it was still a yes.  
“One more after this and we’re done, what about exhibitionism?”  
Mason smiled broadly and nodded for her,  
“Don’t answer, I’ll get that one.”  
Asshole.  
“Last on my list I have...degradation.”  
She looked at him very closely and watched him lean back against the vanity, nodding and drawing up a bit as he stretched his legs out in front of him, the dips and curves of his muscles pressed against his clothing. Annie had drawn him a hundred times if she had drawn him once, but it never measured up to watching him just be him. When he played ball, when he stretched before getting out of bed, the way his tendons pulled into beautiful lines and made him look like marble. She’d never tell him, but she thought he was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen, even if he thought he was a little plain. Mason stood and walked over to her, sitting on the floor and pulling her legs gently down into his lap, resting his head on her knees. He kissed her shin and arched a brow to her,  
“So what’s your differentiation in pain and impact?”  
“Pain is like scratches and things like knife-play, impact is more exactly what it sounds like rather than anything.”  
He nodded and continued,  
“I already knew about you being a sub and you like doing subtle little things in public, but I didn’t expect roleplay or name-calling or even that you like restraint.”  
Annie nodded and looked around a bit, messing with the cuff of his sweater out of embarrassment as she watched him drum his fingers gently on her calf. His hair felt like feathers under her fingers and his caramel eyes scanned her face with a newfound intensity that startled her, but the way he looked out of the top of his eyes made her feel absolutely tiny. Mason stood up and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her forehead. He smiled and brushed the hair out of her face, tangling his fingers at the base of her neck and pulling enough to raise her blood pressure by a few beats. His other hand rested underneath her chin and brushed back and forth over her bottom lip, opening her mouth gently and resting the pad of his finger on her tongue playfully, eyes darkening a bit as she closed her mouth around it. If he could’ve heard her heartbeat like she could, as loud as drums in her ears, she knew he would’ve teased her for it. Though this was enough teasing, almost more than she could deal with. Mason leaned closer to her and spoke quietly into her ear, watching her face,  
“I want you to tell me and show me what you like as long as you feel comfortable doing so. I also don’t want you to keep anything from me right now, is that understood?”  
Annie nodded and watched him as he pulled back, wrapping a hand around her throat and narrowing his eyes,  
“I said, is that understood, little one?”  
She was pretty sure her face looked like a beet,  
“Yes, Sir.”  
Mason tightened the hand around her throat and relished in the way her lashes fluttered as she tried to keep eye contact with him, her fingers coming up to graze against his at the bend in her neck. Her pulse raced under his palm, giving her calm expression away as her face and ears grew redder by the moment.  
“Good girl, now, on the bed and wait for my word.”  
Annie nodded and sat on the edge of her bed, watching him take off his shoes and gesturing for her to undress as well. She took off her clothes slowly and took note of how much she was still shaking, wondering what he had in mind for her as he approached her with his bag in tow. He took out a length of rope and laid it on the bed beside her, setting down a few other things as well; he had a belt, a blindfold, ties, a flogger, and aloe vera. She smiled to herself at his forethought, but that was just how he was with everything. Mason held her by one arm and stood her with her back to him, taking the rope off the bed and unrolling it. He took the hair-tie off her wrist and braided her hair down her neck, kissing her shoulder lightly,  
“I’m going to tie you up and do what I want to you; however, I will not do anything you don’t want, so you need to tell me right now.”  
Annie thought for a moment and looked over her shoulder at him,  
“I don’t want anything in terms of sex, if that’s what you mean.”  
Mason nodded and began tying her arms behind her back, knotting carefully as he moved down to her waist.  
“That’s fine to me, we can try other things tonight and postpone others. For tonight, I think the shibari, name-calling, and impact play will be sufficient.”  
Annie straightened back up and tried to focus on what he was doing, the ropes slick enough not to irritate her skin but tight enough to make her aware of their pressure. He tied her wrists to the small of her back so she wasn’t able to move around too much, but it still allowed her to move her shoulders if she was uncomfortable. He turned her around to face him and moved her to the middle of the room, walking in a small circle around her. It did make her a bit leery to be undressed and inspected in such a manner, but she tried her hardest to stand as still as she could and not hide herself. He took the belt off the bed and stood behind her, tapping her hips and watching her shake quietly,  
“I’m going to give you the stoplight safe-codes, red, yellow, and green, and if you need to use it then feel free. For now though, stand still and take what I give you, is that clear?”  
She nodded and looked down. The first blow landed hard and quickly, taking her breath away,  
“I said is that clear?”  
“Yes, Sir.”  
“Much better.”  
The second hit was definitely more of a warm up as it was much more gentle. He continued and watched as her rear grew redder with each swing, her head tipping back a bit with a particularly hard blow. A soft moan fell from her lips and she faced back forward, breathing evenly and smiling gently. Mason reared his arm back and landed a few rougher strokes, her foot raising off the floor and resting behind her knee to try and soothe the heat. He tapped her hip with the belt,  
“Put it down, angel. You can take it.”  
Annie nodded and put her ankles together, panting a bit and curling her toes to cope. He tossed the belt back on the bed and took her hair in one hand, the other rubbing small circles on her behind.  
“You’re doing so well for me.”  
Annie bit her lip and closed her eyes, whining a bit as he hit her once more and gripping her hair tightly to keep her in place.  
“Such,”  
One.  
“A good,”  
Two and three.  
“Girl.”  
Four nearly brought her to her knees. She squeezed her eyes shut and whimpered quietly, looking at him from the corner of her eye and furling her brow.  
“What, something to say?”  
“No, Sir.”  
Mason smiled and kissed her cheek, following it up with a hard smack that made her quake gently. He sat her back down on the bed and knelt in front of her, watching her face as he helped her slow her breathing down a notch. She could feel the sting of bruises forming on her skin and watched him closely as he cupped her cheek in his hand,  
“See, that wasn’t so bad, and you did such a wonderful job for me.”  
She blushed at the praise and leaned into his touch, relishing in the smile he gave her.  
“What do we say, darling?”  
Annie beamed and looked down a bit,  
“Thank you, D-, Sir.”  
A twitch shook him as she mentally cursed her slip.  
“No, please, feel free to call me whatever you want, angel. I want to know what you like. So, what do we say?”  
Annie turned at least three shades darker as she answered in a now weaker tone,  
“Thank you, Daddy.”  
Mason’s eyebrows raised a little as he drew closer to her, a smirk forming on his lips that drew into the corners of his eyes.  
“Oh that’s what you’ve been keeping from me, I could’ve never guessed.”  
Annie floundered with her words as she tried to explain herself,  
“I can, I’m, if you’d, I-”  
Mason smiled broadly and shushed her gently, caressing her hair and talking quietly,  
“Baby, baby, you don’t have to worry, I’m way into the dynamic already so you’re completely fine. Honestly, I was scared to tell you because I thought you might think negatively of it. I’m just glad it’s out.”  
Her eyes went wide as he kissed her forehead, moving behind her to undo her ropes as quick as he safely could, evidently more excited about this than she was. Annie had fervently tried to ignore this about herself for as long as she possibly could, but it did feel much better having told him. He put the rest of what he had back into his bag and handed her the aloe, going to her closet and grabbing out one of her softest blankets. She tipped her head at him and he motioned for her to turn onto her stomach, gently rubbing out the knots in her back and generously applying the aloe to her behind, gathering her up in the blanket right after and holding her tightly in his chest on the bed. He looked at her and smiled sweetly, running his fingers through her hair and raising an eyebrow,  
“So, how old is she?”  
Annie knew her expression gave her away,  
“You don’t have to be scared to tell me, we went over this, honey.”  
She bit her lip and did some thinking as he fluffed the blankets around her face,  
“I’d say anywhere from two to five years old depending on the scenarios and how deep in space I’m able to go.”  
He nodded and ran his fingers over her skin.  
“What’re some tells that you’re slipping?”  
“I tend to be really nonverbal and I chew on things like my fingers or my sleeves, I swing my feet in chairs that’re too tall for me out of habit, and I can get really cranky if I haven’t been able to regress like I want.”  
Mason rested his head on the pillow with a thunk,  
“What can I do to make it easy for you to regress?”  
Annie had to stop and think for a moment; she’d never really thought about what it took, only that it happened.  
“I’m not all too sure, if I’m being honest. I do like being called baby names and being held or rocked, I’m a sucker for feeling secure, and I tend to slip easier if I’m really happy, sad, or tired.”  
He smiled and nodded for her to continue.  
“I like big clothes and soft things and pretty colours, I love to colour and draw and watch movies, but snacks and naps are my favourite.”  
He knew exactly what he was doing; with every little thing she listed, her voice grew daintier and quieter, and she snuggled further into his chest subconsciously. Mason undid her braid and massaged her scalp with his fingertips, kissing her temple softly and giving himself a pat on the back when a small yawn escaped her mouth.  
“Is there anything Daddy can do for his little girl right now, or do you just wanna be held and babied?”  
Annie was completely in headspace now and it showed as she rubbed her eyes with a fist, curling up and laying her head on his arm for support,  
“No thank you, baba.”  
His chest swelled and he wrapped himself around her, feeling astoundingly happy as she closed her eyes and sighed quietly.  
“Then take a little nap, I’ll be right here.”  
She nodded slowly and slipped off. It was the best sleep she had gotten in months.


	10. Prompt 10- It wasn’t supposed to happen this way (totally fanfiction)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shameless OC insert for The Hobbit movie.

The battle was nearly won, tire and wear setting in deeply into the whole band as they fought the final legs down to the wire. Amila ran to the edge of the ridge and looked out onto the frozen plateau, watching the eagles pick off the few remaining fighters of the Orc army, breathing heavily as her fear abated.  
“Amila!”  
A voice called her from behind and she turned to see one of her companions jogging her direction,  
“Thorin, I am so glad to see you are safe.”   
The embrace was welcoming and kind from the gruff dwarf. His smile was a relief as he turned, taking her hand in his,  
“We should go join the others on the bridge, bring the good news with us.”  
She looked over the scene below them that moments before seemed like such an insurmountable task, winding down now to a dull roar as the last of the warriors were defeated. Her back was turned to him for only a moment when an arrow lodged itself in the ice beside her feet. Amila looked at it confusedly and she felt his hand drop from hers slowly, coming up to rest on his chest with a pained expression on his face. The breath left her lungs as she locked eyes with him; it wasn’t supposed to happen this way. They had won, the fight was over, what was this? He staggered a bit and she caught him before he hit the ice, easing him onto his back. Her panic was evident as she stuttered rapidly, opening his vest and looking at the wound that was seeping from him.  
“No, no, no, just hang on Thorin, it went clean through, it can be fixed.”  
He watched her sadly, her hands pressing on his chest as she called down the ridge to one of the company. Her eyes were wide and he could tell she was at a loss. Thorin laid a hand on her arm and looked up at her,  
“It’s okay, my love, it’s okay. The battle has been won and our home is safe, you can go home.”   
Amila’s face contorted in anger and she shook her head, not looking at him anymore,  
“No, we’re all going home, do you hear me?”  
Thorin took her face in his hands and cursed at her, grimacing and speaking slowly as he saw Dwalin running towards them,  
“You are to go home. You are to raise my son. You are to rule our people as their Queen with a just hand, do you understand me?”  
Amila looked into his tired eyes and she could feel herself shaking, her hands growing tired and the tears flowing from her eyes.  
“I can’t do this without you.”  
He smiled and brought her down to him, resting his forehead against hers and closing his eyes.  
“I know you can, now let me go.”  
She sat back and shook her head, fighting the arms that came around her and picked her up, her legs kicking out in front of her as she tried to loose Dwalin’s grip. Amila cried out as Balin knelt beside Thorin, watching him slip away from her for a second time. Her throat burned with the scream that tore from her lungs, white hot and enraged as she fell onto her knees on the ice. Her teeth were bared tight against her lips as she cried freely, her ears ringing with her blood as Dwalin hauled her feet, taking her down the ridge and walking with her back into the keep. He turned to leave and she caught his arm, looking at him and knowing exactly how terrifying she must look said,  
“Don’t you dare let them leave him up there. You bring me my King and let be bury him.”  
Dwalin nodded and put a hand on her arm, running off as she turned to head into the great hall. Amila felt her body’s injuries catch up with her as her adrenaline came to a halt, finding her way to the infirmary where Oin was waiting on them. She sat down on the stool at the table in the middle of the room, head in her hands as she watched the grime drip off of her clothes and skin. Oin walked in and sat her up, looking her over gently and nodding a bit. Amila was numb now, her anger ebbing away slowly and silent contempt taking her over. She laid a hand over her stomach as Oin laid a listening horn against it, assuring her that her son was doing fine. It was comforting to know that the battle hadn’t disrupted him and he was safe, but she couldn’t help feeling still so empty. To watch her husband die before her eyes was still so vivid and it hurt, but her duty was at the forefront of her mind. To rule over her people was his final wish, as it was to raise their son, and she was going to make him proud. Oin gave her a few tinctures and bandaged her up, sighing sadly as she walked out and into the throne room, running her hands across the cold stone of the throne melancholically. Life would move on without him, but there would never be another king like him. She sat down slowly and looked down the hall with a sense of forlorn authority, the sense of dread for his funeral pouring into her as she saw the warriors filing into the keep. She stood before the throne and waited for them all to enter, her hands clasped in front of her as they all took to their knees in silent respect. Dain came forward and bowed, embracing her as an equal and holding onto her hands.  
“I am so sorry, your majesty.”  
Amila bowed her head and spoke evenly,  
“We might have lost our King, but we will not lose hope.”  
She looked out over her people; their spirits were torn, but there was a hope in their face that she had not seen in an age. Dain helped her down the stairs and rejoined his men as she addressed the crowd,  
“By now, I am sure all of you have heard of Thorin’s death. He fought valiantly for our home and for you, and I implore you to remember him as such; a King, a friend, a brother. He will have an honourable burial to remind us of his honourable life. Thorin loved his home and his people, never letting them be torn apart, and that’s why I ask this of you all: do not mourn for him but rejoice in what he has given us. I have no place to ask this of any of you, but know that I will never ask you for more than he did. I ask you to trust me. As your Queen, I ask you to give the same loyalty you gave to my hus-...my King as you will give to me. Every dwarf who wishes to stay here can do so freely, for you are all friends in my eyes. You showed great courage and honour, and for that I will show you greatness. I will build our people back up and we shall rebuild our home, and I will never abandon you. Give me the greatest honour of being your Queen, and you shall never despair in your choice.”  
Dain’s mouth fell open at her words, the hush deafening in the grand space. Every warrior with an axe to hold held it in the air and cried out, pledging to her unyieldingly and without hesitation. Amila sighed and put a hand to her stomach, warmth filling her heart at the display of true loyalty from those who were now her people. She held up her other hand to silence them gently,  
“Our processions will take place in the crypt at nightfall, in the tomb of the forefathers. Any of you who pledged your metal to Thorin’s, I ask only that of you.”  
“Khazad abod amuriz!”  
Amila nodded and gestured to the left,  
“There are provisions to sustain you and care for the wounded, be at peace.”  
She watched them file out, but stopped Dwalin before he could leave, holding his arm gently.  
“Something the matter, my lady?”  
“More of a proposition for you, dear friend.”  
He stood in front of her, brows furrowed as she took her sword from its sheath at her hip,  
“I am in need of a right hand, for I know little of ruling a people. My husband trusted you above all others in the company, so I feel right in my decision to ask this of you: will you help me govern my newfound family, will you help me protect them and make them great, will you help me raise my son and be the man he needs when I can’t help him?”  
Dwalin pursed his lips inward and nodded deeply at her, bowing low and waiting for her to continue,  
“You will keep your people ever in your mind, you will help me bring them out of the darkness, and you will rule at my side.”  
She handed him the sword of Kings and watched as he latched a bead from his hair onto a band at the hilt, a symbol of his promise, and gave it back to her.  
“I will, my Queen.”  
Amila nodded and looked at him intently when he rose, linking his arm with hers and bowing.  
“You will be by my side at the funeral tonight, acting in your new position as King, and bearing his crown.”  
Dwalin nodded and looked at her, his expression pained as he saw her begin to quaver. Amila breathed heavily and let slip a single tear, not fighting as he drew her into his chest, her own arms holding onto him. He shook as the pair stood in silence, mourning with one another.  
“I brought him home, I did that much.”  
Amila nodded and took in a gasping breath as she lost her feet, resting on Dwalin and allowing him to weep as he needed. She straightened up and pulled away from him, wiping her eyes and looking up at him. His always taut face was now streaked with tears and dirt, making him look more gentle than he ever has. She reached a hand to his face and wiped his eyes, looking at him softly and smiling small.  
“You’ve always reminded me of him so. I have no fear that you won’t make a great King.”  
He smiled at her and held her hand to his cheek, relaxing in her touch and making his exit.


	11. Prompt 11- "Bless me, Father, for I have sinned."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which I realise I am really going to Hell.

She was climbing the stairs into the transept to prepare for service tomorrow, being in the church choir had its certain perks, she mused. Her footsteps in the empty church echoed gently, a welcome sound in the absolutely deafening silence filling the pews around her. Annie often came to the church on Saturdays to get ready for service the following day. She had been employed at St. Paul’s for some time now, and she very much enjoyed coming to service, as well as being able to sing in their choir for a little extra money. She was in college, so anything helped, and her Reverend was happy to have her since she brought a sense of levity to their normally dim services with her solos and readings. There was, however, a slight problem: one of the priests on the rectory that she felt had it out for her. Father Matthew was young for a holder of a seminary position, and he also attended the same college as Annie did, so she had to wrap her mind around seeing him nearly seven days a week. Not to mention her embarrassment around communion and the odd confessional she was obligated to attend. It wasn’t that she had any aversion to him, it was the knowledge that he was popular, and played baseball, and had an absolutely normal life outside of the church that bothered her. She knew that the same could be said of her, but something about it felt different to her in a way should couldn’t quite pinpoint. In any case, she needed to practice. She thumbed through her hymnal and sat down in her pew, writing a few notes down and taking her psalm sheet out. Annie hummed to herself a bit before standing and beginning her cantor, the notes ringing clearly out into the church’s body. She loved coming here and just letting the church absorb the music, becoming even more beautiful, if that was even possible. The stained glass was lit with the internal lights of the church, the faux candlelight dancing against them in deep contrast of the deep blue night outside. A corresponding chord on the organ jolted her attention left where she saw Father Matthew sitting and playing along to the psalm. He stood and straightened out his vestments, smiling over at her and folding his hands behind him.

    “Pardon my intrusion, I couldn’t help but hear you practicing from my office, so I thought I’d come see how everything is coming along for service.”

    Annie nodded and sat back down on her pew, making room as he came to sit beside her. He was a polite enough guy, but he was still a couple years her seniour, and not to mention her priest, so she opted for polite conversation rather than the alternative of asking him why he was being a creep.

    “It’s going fine Father, thank you, but you did startle me hitting the keys like that.”

    “I’m sorry, I couldn’t help myself.”

    She smiled and nodded, fiddling with the cuff of her robe and looking down a bit. Father Matthew furrowed his brow and looked at her intently, placing a hand on her shoulder and speaking softly,

    “Is there something the matter?”

    There was a gentility in his voice that masked a gravel tone, making her tense up a bit. In all honesty, she hadn’t been feeling herself lately and she had started to come to services less, perhaps because of how she couldn’t seem to get him out of her mind lately. The guilt of excusing herself from services merely to make her own self more comfortable seemed conceited and foolish now that she thought it through, but she couldn’t make herself be comfortable with taking communion from the same guy she had regular classes with during the week either. Annie nodded a bit and looked up at him a bit shamefully.

    “Honestly yes, but it’s hard to explain.”

    He nodded and leaned back in the pew, thinking aloud.    

    “Well, if you’d feel more comfortable speaking about it in some amount of privacy, you could always speak with me in the confessional. I know quite a few patrons who prefer not to speak face to face, so it wouldn’t be out of my way.”

    She had to think for a moment; would it be better to gather her things and leave as fast as she possibly could, or face this demon (no pun intended) head on? Annie nodded in agreement and Father Matthew smiled as the pair rose.

    “I can’t turn down good help. Let me go get changed and I’ll meet you there.”

    “Sounds like a plan, I’ll see you in a moment then.”

    She took the stairs back down to the anglican hall and slowly opened the robe cabinet, slowly removing her coverings and thought about what she was getting herself into. What if she said too much, what if she didn’t know what to say, what if she told him how she felt? As she hung up her choir robes, she could feel her heart racing in her chest, a quite unwelcome feeling. She knew that she shouldn’t be this frightened of someone who was trying to show her compassion, but Annie couldn’t help feeling like she was walking into her worst nightmare as she walked back into the church and up to the confessional. She rolled the door back and kneeled down onto the padded floor, Father Matthew sliding the window open to her, crossing herself as she began,

    “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.”

    “How long has it been since your last confession?”

    “About a month.”

    He nodded and proceeded,

    “What do you have to confess?”

    Annie hesitated and threaded her fingers in front of her as she talked quietly,

    “I’m having trouble clearing out my head and making time for the things that I know I should be making time in my life for.”

    Father Matthew looked through the grate at her and leaned his head against it gently, rolling his rosary in his fingers as he replied,

    “What can’t you seem to clear out?”

    Annie leaned her forehead against her hands and bit her lip, the words tumbling out of her mouth unceremoniously,

    “I, I can’t focus in classes and I can’t make myself come to services because I want something I can’t have, and it’s bearing down on my mind so heavy that it makes my heart race.”

    His eyes flickered to her face, her eyes cast down and her forehead furled tight, her fingers knit together so tight it was making her knuckles white. Father Matthew felt his heart ache for her and something in his stomach leap, making him clear his throat and press his knees together under his robe.

    "And what is the thing that you want? Which of the sins do you need prayer for?"

    She flushed hot and felt herself tremble in her kneeling position, now seeming to be the worst possible way to be situated.

    "Lust, Father."

    Father Matthew was taken aback a bit by her confession; who could this demure girl possibly be afflicted by such, wasn't there someone in her life that could take care of her? He knew she was a busy girl, but he didn't know she was so caught up in her work that temptations of the flesh were an issue. Though, ironically, they were his at this precise moment. He had never wanted so badly to kiss anyone than in this moment.

    "Towards?"

    The horrible word reared its head,

    "You, Father."

    He was again speechless. Him? How him?

    "Forgive me if I am overstepping my limit, but how so?"

    Annie looked up at his now very red face with wide hazel eyes.

    "It's how I know so much and yet so little about you, it's how you stand over me in prayer, it's how you look at me when I'm on my knees at the altar. It's your presence. Just, you."

    Father Matthew had to keep a hand on the arm of the chair he was seated in and a hand over a new, steadily growing problem as he stared her down through the grate of the confessional, her chest heaving gently as she watched him.

    "And why is this a sin? You are not committing adultery, you are under no oath or promise to a lover or the church; why feel the need to confess?"

    Annie drew her lip into her mouth and rested her chin on her hands, watching him closely as he spoke, listening to the hitches in his breathing and reveling in his eyes darting back and forth from her mouth back to her eyes.

    "I need help, Father, I can't go on this way."

    He practically threw the grate open and held her face in his hands, kissing her firmly and trembling as her hands clung to his as the kiss deepened. Annie drew back and sat back on her knees, panting and trying her hardest to steady her heartbeat and breathing as he watched her. He swung the door on his side open so that he was in the same piece of the booth with her, kneeling down and whispering in her ear,

    "Then allow me to help you, lamb. After all, a good shepherd tends to the weakest of his flock first."

    Annie's mouth dropped open as he pulled back from her. He reached into the pocket of the booth and drew out a wafer, holding it at his waist and pointing to the floor in front of him.

    "So prostrate, open your mouth, and take communion."


	12. Prompt 12- "If you ever loved me, shoot the gun, for God's sake!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pure, unadulterated angst for the sake of it.

This shouldn’t have happened to them. Jacob had tears in his eyes as he watched her writhe in pain, the gash on her side oozing crimson as she tried to stay upright. He could see Anna struggling to breathe, her eyes unblinking as she stared at her now defeated attacker, but colder as her own life was fading so quickly. Anna looked over at him and trembled a bit before he dove to catch her, a pained cry jutting from her as he lowered her to the ground. She sat up and batted his hand away as she scooted to lean against the wall, pulling her revolver from its holster on her side and handing it to him. Jacob took the gun and walked back a few paces, knowing what it was he had to do, but dreading it all the more. He couldn’t stand to see her in pain, but he didn’t want to lose her. They were too far from town to make it in time, neither of them had phones, and they were the only two people left in the safehouse alive after the bloody fight. For now, that was. He drew the hammer back and looked at her down the dots on the barrel of the gun, her breathing not even so much as jumping when she saw him keel up, trusting him even if he had a gun to her head. Jacob looked at this woman with haze in his eyes and pain in his heart, knowing in the deepest part of himself that he could never forgive what he was going to do. He tried to push the feeling of her kiss on his lips out of his mind, the clutch of her hand in his, the way her smile pulled at the corners of her eyes and the bridge of her nose. Jacob’s hands dropped and he sobbed a bit as he turned away from her, anger at the unfairness of it all overcoming him to a degree where he just couldn’t pull that damn trigger. Anna growled out a curse and yelled at him,  
“Please Jacob, please just do this, we swore.”  
“I know, but I can’t, don’t make me do this.”  
“Jacob, I can’t make it back to town, it’s hours away, and there’s nothing here you can fix me with, this is what you have to do.”  
“Anna I ca-”  
“If you ever loved me, shoot the gun, for God’s sake! I can’t take this pain any longer, please Jacob.”  
He froze in his tracks and looked at her, nothing but love and tears for her in his eyes as he raised the gun once more.  
“I love you, I love you so much, Anna.”  
She smiled and nodded, closing her eyes and leaning her head back against the wall as she accepted what was coming.  
“I love you t-”  
The shot rang out in the empty house and Jacob flinched as he finally pulled the trigger. He felt the spatter of her blood on his clothes and he couldn’t bring himself to look down at her. His boots were coated in sand and red, his eyes hazing over again as he looked up at her now, her face blanked out and her hands at her sides peacefully. Jacob would’ve sworn she was asleep had he not pulled the trigger himself. He dropped the gun at his side and went to his knees in front of her, holding her face in his hands and resenting the blood that stained his skin, caressing the skin of her cheek and kissing her forehead. Tears poured out of his eyes as he sat on the floor with her, pulling her into his lap and running his fingers through her hair. Night was falling quickly outside so he knew that he was going to have to spend another night here, the scent of gun smoke and stale death invading his nose. He looked down at her body, growing colder under his fingertips as time went by, and back to the gun on the floor. Jacob drew it back to him and looked in the cylinder at the last two bullets she had, going over his options in his head. He had no other family than Anna and he had nothing to go back to that wouldn’t remind him of her. Jacob rolled the cylinder and locked it into place, pulling the hammer back and placing the barrel underneath his chin and holding her hand in his. He took a few shaky breaths in and looked down at her.  
“I’ll be right behind you love, just you wait."  
And the final shot rang out into the dark of the growing night, the only listener now was the forest and the stars.


	13. Prompt 13- "I didn't have a good day, if that's what you're asking."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on true events.

Annie was sitting in the waiting room of the OB-GYN office, cold and restless, as she waited with a bouncing leg for her name to be called. They had called her back in after her initial pelvic exam to look at some things and talk to her some more is what they said, but she couldn’t help feeling like nothing good could come of this.  
“Annie Henry?”  
She grabbed her handbag and walked back with the nurse into an examination room, the nurse directing her to the shelves with dressing gowns so she could get undressed, instructing her to get up on the table afterwards. This room was much warmer, but her hands and feet were still ice cold as she stripped off her clothes and put the paper and cloth gown on, clambering up onto the high seat of the table. She was too aware of everything in the room, and this always seemed to happen when she came to this office; the lights were too bright, the paper underneath her crinkled too loud, the diagrams on the wall popped out into her view, and the wait for the doctor was always too long and gave her too much time to overthink. Annie picked at the skin around her nails and bit her lip, jumping at the sound of the door opening and sitting up straight. Her doctor was a kind woman, stout with short, blonde hair that she curled around her face. Dr. Metcalf smiled at her and closed the door behind her, placing her clipboard down on the counter-top and sitting down in front of her on the stool.  
“I’m sorry I startled you, Annie. So, what’s going on?”  
She smiled politely and explained,  
“They told me that they needed me to come back in so they could do a few more tests to make sure of some things, blood tests and another exam, I think?”  
Dr. Metcalf nodded and looked over her chart, her face dropping a bit and her brows furrowing together as she read. She nearly toppled over as she went to the cabinets above the sink, grabbing an array of things down and setting them in lines on the trolley, rolling it beside the table. She extended the stirrups and patted them for her to put her legs up in, leaning the headrest back to make her more comfortable. A gentle hand pressed above her pelvic bone as she strung her mask over her ears,  
“I am going to begin with an outward exam and then move to the inside. I am going to have to take a few tissue samples as well, so I apologise for any discomfort.”  
Annie nodded and laid back on the bed, her hands knit together over her chest as she flinched away from her hands.  
“Does that right side hurt you?”  
“Honestly, both sides hurt, but the right has always hurt more. There’s also this weird burning sensation that I have that never really goes away, it just gets a little less on the off days.”  
Dr. Metcalf nodded and her brows knit together once more as she moved inside with the speculum, shining the heating lamp above her to her advantage.  
“Everything looks pretty normal, but you do have a bit of inflammation. When was the last time you had sex and had a period?”  
Annie had to think for a bit,  
“I had my period about a week and a half ago, and I had sex about two weeks back from that.”  
Dr. Metcalf grabbed a syringe off the trolley and sat back a bit on her seat,  
“This is anesthetic, I have to do a biopsy and take tissue samples. Just take a big breath for me.”  
Annie breathed in as deep as she could and held onto herself as she felt the cold prick of the needle, a warm numbness spreading afterwards instantly. Dr. Metcalf took another tool and scraped the wall inside for a sample, collecting it in a tube and closing it tightly. She removed the speculum and sat Annie up slowly, taking an IV and another tube off the trolley, cleaning the crease of her arm as she explained further,  
“I need to take some blood samples last and then I’ll personally run the results right after so you don’t have to wait the standard three days.”  
Annie cringed as the IV entered her vein, blood flowing into the new tube and filling it quickly. Dr. Metcalf took the two tubes and her chart and put her tools in the sink, turning back to Annie as she left,  
“You can get redressed and I’ll be back in my office in about 20 minutes, I’m just checking for a few things.”  
Annie got off the table slowly and grabbed her clothes out of the chair by the bathroom door, putting the gown into the bio bin and dressing herself. She walked across the hall to Dr. Metcalf’s office, sitting in the soft chair as she took her phone out of her handbag. She had a message from her boyfriend Mason,  
“Hey baby, I just got out of bullpen and I’ve got a film class until 8:30 tonight. Jordan and Liv are coming over tonight for drinks still so if you wanna just hang out and wait on them at the apartment, I’ll be there when I get back from class.”  
At this point, she chose not to tell him what was going on in case it was only nothing.  
“Okay baby, I’ll see you tonight then, hope class goes well.”  
She slid her phone into her back pocket and leaned her head against the wall, thinking over what they could’ve possibly called her back for, good or bad. Annie knew that something had to be wrong in there with how much she hurt on and off her monthly and how swollen she got when she was on it, so she wasn’t expecting great news. The door opened slowly to a very empty-faced Dr. Metcalf as she sat in the chair next to Annie instead of across from her at her desk, tossing the papers onto the tabletop and resting her elbows on her crossed knee. She drug a hand down her face and sat back up, breathing deeply and turning her chair to face Annie better.  
“I ran the blood twice and I ran your tissue samples that many times as well, but it all came back the same. You definitely have Von Willebrand’s like we found out last time, but we did pick up a trace last test. It blared out this time.”  
“Will you please just tell me what’s going on?”  
“Annie...I am so sorry. Your womb isn’t ever going to be able to hold a viable pregnancy, it can’t withstand the work and the lining couldn’t support a growing embryo even with IVF. Your right ovary is polycystic and you’re pre-endometrial. You’re infertile.”  
Annie’s heart stopped and her ears rang. All she wanted was what she couldn’t have, and that was made immensely clear with this news. Dr. Metcalf kept talking but she tuned her out, taking the paperwork from her and putting it in her handbag slowly, as if she were stuck in a thick stupor. She saw herself out of the office building and nearly ran to her car, throwing her bag into the seat beside her and letting out a throat-burning scream as the tears rolled down her face. She was empty in a way she could never explain, and it showed as she hit the metal of her steering wheel with all of her might, the whole car body rattling. Annie leaned back in her seat and panted quietly, staring at herself in the rear-view mirror, her face red and her eyes bloodshot. She pushed the pain to the back of her mind and drove back to the apartment, surprised to see Mason sitting at the kitchen table waiting on her.  
“Hey, my class cancelled so I thought I’d come back early.”  
Annie forced a smile as she leaned down to kiss him, his arms holding her close as he squeezed her middle. An honest giggle escaped her as she ruffled his hair, opening the fridge and grabbing a beer out for them both. He cracked hers open for her and she sipped slowly on it as he told her about his day, their roommates coming back to the apartment as the night closed in. A gentle knock on the door around 9 pm told her that Jordan and Liv were here, and she greeted them with a warm smile and a hug each.  
“I’m so glad y’all could still come over, I’ve got the Sved if you have the mixer.”  
Liv held up a bottle of cran-peach and shook it excitedly,  
“Hell yeah girl, let’s get this party kicked.”  
Annie smiled and took the bottle from her, setting it on the table and grabbing the vodka from the freezer, their glasses from the cabinet, and sat back down as Mason poured their drinks. The girls talked about random things; classes, men, food, politics. Soon they were down a bottle of mixer, Mason placing a kiss on her forehead as he spoke,  
“Hey, I’m gonna go pick up some juice and Liv needs some groceries, we’ll be back in about 20 minutes.”  
“Okay baby, I’ll keep Jo company. Please drive safe.”  
He smiled brightly at her and followed Liv out to her car, Annie’s face falling as she swirled her straight alcohol in her glass, taking a deep sip as Jordan looked at her.  
“Hey, you okay? It really seems like something is way up.”  
Annie peered at her gentle eyes and sighed heavily, the guise she had been putting up falling off of her like a wave as she spoke quietly,  
“I didn’t have a good day, if that’s what you’re asking.”  
Jordan’s eyes widened a bit as she tipped her head in her direction, watching her run her fingers around the rim of her glass absently.  
“Why not? Or is it too much to explain?”  
Annie looked at Jordan with defeat as she sipped her drink slowly, resting her head in the crook of her arm that was on the table.  
“I went in for my BC refill last month and they found an irregularity, so they called me back in today for extra tests. I’m polycystic and pre-endometrial with a blood disease. I’m infertile, Jo.”  
Jordan’s face drew up as she froze in place, Annie’s weary smile was ripped by streaks of tears that tore lines in her face and made her hands shake as she clasped her glass tighter, taking a deep drink out of it once more. She rested a hand on her arm and looked at Annie with all the care she had in her as the girl broke down in front of her.  
“I can’t tell Mason, I can’t bring myself to do it. I don’t want him to think I’m broken-”  
“Annie, honey, you are not broken. If it’s like this, then it needed to be this way for one reason or another.”  
Annie’s breath hitched in her chest as she finished her drink, the wooze of the liquid really hitting her now that her heart was racing.  
“I know that, but I can’t help it. There are so many kids that need help, and that’s what’s keeping me afloat, but to know that I’m a woman and I can’t even bear a child is breaking me.”  
Jordan wiped her eyes and brought Annie to her as she sobbed quietly, clinging to the soft fabric of her shirt and trying to calm down. Jordan leaned her back and cupped a cheek in her hand as she spoke,  
“You are in no way broken, and yes it’s horrible, but you’ve got the right mindset about this. There are so many babies that you could help, and who knows, it could correct or there could be treatment. But I do know one thing: you need to tell Mason.”  
Annie nodded and dried her face, the last few whimpers dying down quietly as she finished her drink slowly. If she was going to be a mess, she would be a royal one. As if on cue, Mason and Liv walked back in the door bearing more juice and some snacks to tide them over. She did feel a sense of relief at telling Jordan what was going on, thinking to herself that it was only downhill from here. They all sat back down again and poured more drinks, laughing and cracking up over stories, sharing pictures and taking new ones. Annie gathered the empty glasses and went to put them in the sink, washing them out slowly as she felt Mason’s arms wrap around her solidly, swaying the pair of them gently to invisible music. She put the glasses on the rack and turned in his arms to face him, kissing him softly and smiling genuinely up at him this time. He led her back to the table and sat her down on his knee, resting his chin on her shoulder as their drinks wore off and the conversations lulled into midnight thirty. Liv and Jordan headed back to their apartments soon after, leaving the pair of them to go to his room and end the night.  
“You know, Jordan thinks you’re great.”  
The comment caught Annie off guard as she changed into one of his shirts and a new pair of underwear, watching him change as well.  
“What do you mean?”  
“She says that we mesh really well as people and as a couple, and that you have a personality that isn’t put on. So congrats, that’s your toughest critic down.”   
Annie smiled and chuckled at him, laying on his chest as they laid back down in bed.  
“Well, I think she’s pretty great too.”  
Mason smiled and kissed her softly.  
“I’m so glad y’all are getting along, that really matters to me.”  
Annie nodded and sighed gently, sitting up a bit and looking at him.  
“I do have something I need to tell you from the visit today.”  
Mason nodded and propped up to listen.  
“I, something in me is broken that really upsets me, so just bear with me. I’ve always had female problems, but never really knew what it was exactly. I have cysts growing on my ovaries and the lining of my cervix isn’t viable, I can’t have kids.”  
Mason’s brow knit together and his chestnut eyes locked with hers as he brought her to his chest tightly, breathing deeply. The tears came pouring back again, but she didn’t feel sad anymore; she just felt safe and cared for.  
“Baby, I am so sorry, I am so, so sorry.”  
Mason’s fingers threaded into her hair as she gripped tight to him, climbing into his lap and wrapping herself around him. He held her face in his hands as she sobbed breathlessly, kissing her teary cheeks and looking at her like she was the only person on the Earth with him. Mason rested his forehead against hers and looked her in the eyes,  
“We’re gonna get through this, and I’m not going anywhere, I promise you that. Okay?”  
Annie nodded quickly and kissed him deeply, her hands resting on his waist and his hands still on her face. That meant more to her than he could ever possibly know. She knew he meant it too, which only made her kiss him harder as he brought her closer to him by her hips. Mason pulled away and nipped her bottom lip gently, smiling at her and putting a finger under her chin.  
“How about I show you that you’re not broken?”  
Annie bit back at him and giggled, nodding and leaning with him as he laid back on his back.  
“Enlighten me, handsome.”  
He flipped her over and leered over her, kissing her softly and nestling into the space between her legs.  
“Of course, princess.”  
Annie arched her hips up as he slid her underwear down her legs, taking off his own as well as he drew her closer to him, resting his head in the crook of her neck as he pressed into her. She sighed quietly and wrapped her arms and legs around him, her fingernails running bright red lines up his back and making him groan out loud. Mason put his hands on either side of her head and tangled his fingers in her tresses, slowly pumping into her and kissing down her neck. Annie turned her head to one side and arched her back tight, pressing up into him and baring her neck. She could feel his teeth sink into her and her mouth forming words she couldn’t hear, the feeling of a forming bruise all too much of a rush as his hands gripped her hips, moaning quietly against her skin as she tightened around him. Mason let go of her neck gently and smiled at his handiwork, flipping her over slowly and sliding back into her from there, whispering to her about how good she was being and how good she felt and how beautiful and amazing she was, all falling on nearly deaf ears as Annie fought to stave off her impending peak. He completely covered her in his warmth, hands splaying on her back as he groaned out for her “not to hold back” and to “show me what I do to you”. It didn’t take long at all for her body to respond to his ministrations and she felt near on the brink of blacking out as he stilled inside of her, massaging the tension in her back away gently as she moaned delicately. Annie felt at peace when he returned to his spot beside her, a smile wide on both of their faces as he gathered her into his chest and kissing the top of her head. The sleep she fell into was warm and comforting, not a thought in her mind but of being held and being taken care of. She decided that was enough for her as she kissed him softly before drifting off quietly.


	14. Prompt 14- "He'll be here when he gets here." (tw: ED and self-harm)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A girl, interrupted.

It was week one at the institution and Elena thought she was going to lose her God-given mind within three days. No visitors the first week, no scale, no ink pens, no nothing that she could use to gauge anything in her life. They gave her a spineless notebook and safety pencils with rubber bodies that she could barely hold with the CTS in her right hand. Thankfully, they let her keep her clothes, books, cellphone, and other things she proved couldn’t hurt her. One thing they hadn’t accounted for was the broken mirror in her bathroom that she had a shard from which sat in her bedside table. Elena’s room was on the third floor, ward C, room 16, and the screams were absolutely going to be the death of her. They were consistent throughout the day and night, and no amount of medication could stifle the fear she felt every single time one tore through the building, the wheels of new gurneys rolling across the floor like the beating of hooves on the battleground. This war that they were all fight though was an all-lose battle with no light at the end of the tunnel, no doctor could change that for them. She had been fighting a no-win death match with an eating disorder and problems with self punishment since she was in grade school, but she never really sought the help that she needed until someone pushed her to go. Elena was a healthy child, filling into her growing body comfortably until a very shattering blow came one morning from the mouth of someone she loved,  
“You wouldn’t have stretch marks if you weren’t fat, eating like you do doesn’t help.”  
It broke Elena into a thousand tiny pieces at age 12. Not barely in middle school. The self-harm started about two or three years later when she began junior high school. She got really good at cover-ups and chew/spit techniques when she had to eat, or she avoided it entirely by calling up the migraine card, and weighed in around 125 until she got into college. Her first semester of college was going great, she’d been talking to a really great guy, and she had gained 30 pounds of good, healthy weight. Not that her mind saw it that way. Every night as she got into the shower, she stared into the mirror for far too long, contemplating how she could just take a pair of scissors to every curve and roll on her body and fix her problems. She would turn the heat all the way up in the shower and sit in the floor, making her skin numb before she took hammer-fists to her legs and arms, the pockets of blood bubbling up under her skin like galaxies and making her shake. The first night Elena went over to her boyfriend’s house littered with the blacks and blues of the past night’s onslaught was the first night that she truly felt anywhere near beautiful in years. David had tears in his eyes and his hands were painfully gentle as they glode over her legs, his lips pressing against them deftly as he spoke,  
“If you wanna do this to you, you do it to me too, because you’re already so beautiful you don’t deserve this.”  
Elena had felt such guilt for all the nights of running on treadmills for hours, the endless sets of crunches to burn just a few more calories before bed, the lying about meals to him when all her lunch consisted of was a half a Gatorade and a couple mints. So here she was, admitted into a ward like a certified psychopath for her own benefit. It was visitation day though, so she was sitting patiently in the lobby with a big sweater of his on, watching for his car out the front window past the front desk.  
“Elena, baby, sit down or you’re gonna faint. He’ll be here when he gets here.”  
“But what if he got lost, Angie? Do you think I should call?”  
The older woman shook her head and chuckled to herself, peeking over the counter and raising an eyebrow,  
“Slate grey Dodge, right?”  
Elena nearly jumped over the booth as she tried to look out the front doors to see if he was here,  
“Yes, did you see him?”  
“Elen-! Get back on your side, sister, he’ll be in here soon.”  
“Angie, you don’t have any idea how bad I wanna see this boy.”  
“I can damn well guess.”  
Elena rolled her eyes and smiled as bright as the sun when he walked in, big brown eyes searching around the room for her and stopping in his tracks when he saw her, his own smile cracking like that one tooth in the front of his mouth. She tapped her foot as she filled out her portion of the paperwork, nearly throwing it at Ms. Angie to give to David for checkout. When her release pass was handed to her, and then promptly shoved into the bag on her shoulder, she ran into his chest and held him tight around his waist. His heartbeat in her ear was a massive comfort, the warmth from the summer sun making him feel like the warmest blanket on the planet. David took her hand and kissed her softly as he led her outside to the car.  
“So, we’ve got a couple of hours right? I just have to have you back before 8 p.m.”  
David handed Elena a pack of cigarettes and his lighter, rolling down the window as they left the parking lot, a drag so deep that it made her head spin.  
“Yep, and until then, we are gonna go eat pizza and watch movies in a real bed with real blankets, or I might actually have a mental break.”  
He laughed and held onto her leg with his free hand, driving the road back into town slowly as he could so that he could soak in as much time as possible before she left again.  
“Anything else you wanna do, crazy lady?”  
Elena laughed and leaned over to his side of the car, kissing his cheek and running her fingers through the short hair at the base of his neck.  
“Just kiss me and hold me and be stupid with me. That sound okay?”  
“Sounds like a plan to me, ma.”


	15. Prompt 15- Write the saddest short story you can in just a handful of lines.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little thing, a small thought.

She stared at him as he laid across from her, his arms tight around her even as he slept. The stars wheeled overhead out the window and a tear slid down her cheek. How could this go right when she was so wrong? His arms were warm and her heart was hurting, but he never knew how bad because she would never tell him. He could stay right here and hold her and the world could go on turning, all she could do was wish that it would turn a little slower.


	16. Prompt 16- ...it was all a dream? (just me crazy writing)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Literal paranoia.

I’ve always played around with the idea that my whole life is some big dream that 8th grade me cooked up because she’s lonely or she’s taken a nap for too long. Recently, my boyfriend and I have been playing with the idea that I’m in some institute and I’m doped up, dreaming through college and that I made the perfect man in my subconscious. I joke and say why would I make up a guy with chipped teeth and a smoking habit, but it does fit. He’s big and tall, he’s dumb and joke-y, he cares, he’s smart. What if I wake up back in middle school and it was all a dream? I don’t think I could take it, but maybe I’d be more prepared for what’s to come. Maybe he’d be real and this is a premonition. It’d save me a lot of heartache to find him earlier than I did, probably a lot more good food too, but I don’t think I’d ever stop looking for someone like him if he wasn’t real. I’d love for some things in my life to just be fever dreams that I could wake up from, but I’ve grown so much from them that I can’t just drop them. If you have to go through one specific path in life to end up where you are now, then I wouldn’t change any of even the most horrible moments because I am happy where I am, finally. So let it be a dream if it is, and thank God if it’s not, but now I know what to do and how to do it better.


	17. Prompt 17- “What do you wanna be?” (a piece about insecurity)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just being introspective.

At 20- I wanna be put together, made up, not running around trying to calm myself down. I wanna be stable and have someone to keep me afloat when my ship is going under. I wanna be a missus to somebody so that I can make them happy even when I’m on the verge of tears. I just wanna be yours for as long as you’ll have me, which is hopefully a damn long time. And I just wanna make you happy when you need me to.

At 18- I wanna be a bottle blonde with a skinny waist and dainty fingers so that you can wrap your arms around me and I won’t feel like I weigh 300 pounds. I wanna be smarter so you’ll respect me, get an education and escape this tiny, dirty town without you. I wanna wipe you from my camera roll and out of my mind because where you were left a big black ink stain that no amount of nicotine can take out. I just wanna feel safe again.

At 16- I wanna be able to forget how your hands felt on me, and how cold it was when you took me outside that day. I wanna forget the taste of blood and what my ears sound like when they ring too loud because my heart is going way too fast. I wanna never be scared of you ever again. I just wanna go to class and not have to see you there and hear them talk and know that I’m always going to be in the wrong. I just wanna go back.

At 14- I just wanna be with my friends and write poetry and not be lectured on what I should or shouldn’t wear when I’m in front of boys. I don’t even really like boys yet. I just wanna be left alone to write music and be happy, but it’s that time where nothing I do can ever be right or good or normal. I just wanna have my 3 friends and be in choir without any interruptions. I wanna be me.

At 12- I wanna be skinny and talented and not feel like I have to wear blue jeans every single day of my life. I want friends who care about me and don’t try to make me feel like a freak. I wanna make my mom proud of who I am so that she can be happy. I just wanna feel like I make someone proud of me, and not just because I get A’s on my reports, but because I’m a good kid and they love me.

At 10- I wanna know why my mom would say that. That’s it really.

At 8- I wanna know why this started so early. That’s all.

At 6- I want a couple friends and nicer people in my class.

At 4- I wanna go home, I don’t like other kids.

At 2- I want my big sister.

At birth- I wanna be the best and only me. I wanna be confident. I wanna be a good person. I wanna be happy. I wanna have a family. I just want to have a good life.


	18. Prompt 18- “You think you can run that pretty mouth of yours whenever you want?”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tempers flare.

It had been a very long morning for Andrew. He couldn’t deal with college, his head was killing him, and his girl was really just feeling her oats today. Usually, June was sweet and reserved and didn’t want to test him about things, but today was very different as she was pushing every one of his buttons she could possibly find. They were going to meet up after his last class was done so they could hang out, and he had been texting her for a good while.   
“You gonna be ready for me when I get out?”  
Her reply came in all too slowly,  
“Duh, you know I will be.”  
“Hey, watch that attitude, I don’t need that tone with you.”  
June’s notification bubble ran far too long for his liking.  
“You watch it for me.”  
Andrew grabbed his bags and huffed to his car, ignoring calls and impartial conversations as he passed his classmates on the way out to his car where she stood, leaning on the front of his Dodge with her arms crossed across her chest. He gestured for her to get in the car as he loaded his things in the back, slamming the door as he slid in the driver's seat. He put a hand on the back of her headrest and cleared his throat at her, taking her phone that she was nonchalantly scrolling through and gripping her by her chin, forcing her to look him directly in his eyes. His brows were knit together and his lips were drawn up to one side in a grimace, his eyes darkening as she leaned into his hand. Andrew sighed and shook his head at her,  
“You think you can run that pretty mouth of yours whenever you want?”  
June smirked a bit and looked up through her lashes, a jerk of his hand alerting her that he was very serious. However, she definitely wasn’t about to let this go down easy.  
“You think I’m pretty?”  
His eyes narrowed at her and he clenched a hand into her hair, sitting her back in her seat and buckling her seat-belt around her.  
“Okay then, we’re going back to my place, and I’m going to beat you black and blue, how’s that sound?”  
She nodded and sat back in her seat, propping her knees up against the dash and reaching for her phone, only to have it snatched away from her once more, rolling her eyes as he slipped it into his pocket and added on,  
“And if you’re good, you’ll get this back after.”  
June nodded and crossed her arms again as he held onto her leg, pulling into the apartment drive and throwing the car into park. She did know that she had to at least act right if anyone was inside, which she sincerely hoped they were out for the rest of the evening, but much to her relief this was the night the boys went and partied. Andrew shut the door hard behind her and pressed her against it, holding tight to her as he looked her over. He was really trying to keep his composure, but she looked so innocent when he was craning over her, looking up at him out of those pretty brown eyes. She looked down shyly, knowing that she was fixing to get in lots of trouble, as he took her by the small of her back and led her back to his room. He locked the door behind him and stood in front of her, undoing his belt and pointing to the bed,  
“Hands and knees, away from me.”  
June nodded and got up on the bed, laying her forehead on her clasped hands, wincing a bit as her pants were pulled off to expose her backside. Andrew hummed and ran the belt along her skin, watching her tremble as she tried to sit as still as she possibly could.  
“You know why we’re here, don’t you?”  
She nodded and arched her back a little higher, breathing slowly and looking over her shoulder.  
“Then you’ll know that you need this to be good.”  
And the first swing landed.


	19. Prompt 19- “Can I kiss you?”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A first date and some old-fashioned values.

They had met up that morning to go on their date that they had scheduled the day before. Embarrassingly, this was the first first-date she had been on in a very long time. He looked like a nice enough guy from his profile, but she really felt the nerves now that she saw his truck pulling into the parking lot. Tia drew her lip in and looked at his picture one more time, looking into the windshield of the grey Dodge that had parked beside her. She shook her hair back and smiled at him as she rolled down the window,  
“Hey! You’re Andrew, right?”  
He smiled widely at her and nodded, pointing a thumb back into the cab of his truck,  
“That’s me. You wanna grab your stuff and hop in my rig? I kinda had a few things planned.”  
Tia raised her eyebrows a bit and grabbed her purse, turning her car off and walking up to the passenger side of the truck, hopping in and looking over to him.  
“So, what’re we doing?”  
Andrew chuckled a bit and rubbed the back of his neck,  
“Well, the movie isn’t until later tonight, so I thought we’d go grab some snacks for later and then go do some backroading. I know it’s not a lot but-”  
“No, honestly, that sounds great.”  
He was sincerely super sweet, and he seemed a little nervous himself, which put her at ease somewhat.   
The afternoon went by way too fast for her liking, but the movie and the road trip was a lot of fun. He had taken her around the backroads where he was from, showing her some of his favourite places to go. The way he talked about things was somber, but poetic if anything else; however, his bright blue eyes lit up every single time he laughed, and she was hooked. Damn. Closer to the movie time, they went and rounded up snacks to sneak in before it started, snagging the really good middle row seats first. Neither of them really wanted to get out of the car to split afterwards, so they sat for a while and talked about aimless things. School, family, music, jobs, anything to get them out of having to leave. It got quiet for a while as they sat when Andrew said gently,  
“You know, you’re a lot prettier than what your picture let on.”  
Tia couldn’t even look at him as she tried to stifle the smile that threatened to overtake her face, but was unsuccessful in hiding her flushed cheeks from him. He tipped his head to get a better view at her as she peeked up at him with a smile,  
“As are you.”  
Andrew smiled back at her and turned to face her nearly straight on now, one hand gripping his knee and the other on the seat behind her.  
“I’m gonna be wondering about this until the day I die if I don’t ask, but....can I kiss you?”  
Her face was surely red now. She had never been asked to be kissed, and it felt so comforting. She nodded small and locked her eyes with his as they grew closer together. The kiss itself wasn’t anything to speak of, but the way it made her feel was otherworldly. Andrew smelled like smoke and trees and clean laundry, his lips a stark, soft contrast from the scratch of his beard. His hand rested on her cheek and he pushed no further, not a trace of expectation for anything more left behind as she backed away a bit. Tia drew him in and held him for a moment before bouncing out of the truck. She didn’t care how big she was smiling now because he was too,  
“Today was really awesome, thank you. So, I’ll talk to you in the morning?”  
Andrew nodded and relaxed in his seat as she shut the door behind her. Tia waved at him as he drove away, shaking like a leaf from the adrenaline rushing through her. Damn. Damn, damn, damn. She rested her head on the steering wheel and sighed happily, cursing herself silently to keep it together and not do anything rash. But, God, she really hoped this one was gonna stick around.


	20. Prompt 20- “She didn’t know what to do, except maybe stare at him.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A true story.

It had been a really good day with him, but she couldn’t help but feel that there was a certain tension hanging between them. Andrew and Tia had been dating for about a month and a half now, and things were going very well, but today something felt off to her. He had been nervous all day, and even now while they were laying in bed, he was shaky and stuttery. Tia bit her lip and drew herself into his chest, holding tight to him and breathing slowly. She had seen this before; usually, when guys get this flustered, she was fixing to get cut off. And she just couldn’t do that again, not with this one. Andrew wrapped his arms around her tightly and rested his head on top of hers, gently kissing her hair and clinging to her shirt. She sighed and looked up at him, placing a hand on his cheek before speaking quietly,  
“I don’t know what’s wrong, but you know you can tell me anything, right? I just wanna help.”  
Andrew looked hard at her and his breath trembled as he put a piece of hair behind her ear. Tia drew her thumb over his cheek as his eyes welled up a bit, confused now as he spoke,  
“It’s not that anything is wrong so much, I’m just not used to all this.”  
“All this?”  
He swallowed and continued,  
“I’ve not had a real girlfriend before you. Yeah, I’ve been with girls, but it never led to anything real. It feels so right when I’m with you, like I’m supposed to be here.”  
Tia’s mouth fell open a bit. Oh, this was different.  
“I’ve always given my all in relationships, but I never got anything back from them, so I thought it just didn’t matter. But this is so good, and I feel so cared for. I’m just nervous.”  
Tia looked up at him with a furrowed brow and didn’t even attempt to say anything in reply, only listening to him talk in a whisper.  
“I want to be with you, I care about you so much, and I think you care about me too. I’ve never met anyone like you; you’re incredibly smart, beautiful, sweet, and I can’t think of any reason why I don’t want to be with you. I know you haven’t had a good run of guys in the past, but I want to change that.”  
Her heart couldn’t possibly beat any harder than it was right now.  
“If you’ll let me, I’ll take care of you and be there for you when you need me because I care about you. I love you, I really love you.”  
She didn’t know what to do, except maybe stare at him. Words dried up in her throat as she threw her arms around his neck, shaking all over as her mind raced.  
“Oh God, I love you too, Andrew. I swear, I do.”  
Andrew buried his face in her hair and held her as close to him as he possibly could, kissing her cheek and cradling her head in his hands, tears rolling down her cheeks as a smile broke over her lips. Tia ran her fingers through his curls and rested her forehead against his gently, squeezing her eyes shut and letting her heart slow down. He pulled away from her gently and kissed her forehead, smiling at her softly,  
“I’m so happy with you.”  
Tia giggled quietly and nodded, wiping her eyes and nodding at him.  
“I’m happy with you too, I really am. But can you do something for me?”  
Andrew raised an eyebrow at her,  
“What’s that, baby?”  
She smiled wide and rested her head against his chest,  
“Say it again?”  
He chuckled quietly and nodded, whispering into her hair,  
“I love you.”  
Tia wrapped her arms around him and held onto his shirt tightly, breathing him in and relaxing to the sound of his heart beating.


	21. Prompt 21- "Why is it me?"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A night swim.

The night sky seemed to go on forever down at the river, and every star had come out to play with the moon. It was cold for a swim, but neither of them really minded it too much. Sparrow loved Bear, so they had agreed to go have a dip in the springs away from the glow of the city lights. She had brought a small bag of things to keep them warm and full, and he had started a fire for them to keep warm with. Sparrow was the first in the water, sitting down on the small rocks by the bank and listening to the night creatures move in the woods. She moved quietly and picked up rocks that looked shiny under the light of the moon, cleaning them off with wet fingers and holding them tightly in the palm of her hand so she wouldn’t lose them to the river again.   
Bear was sitting on a log, watching her silently until she would look over at him and smile a smile that would light up her eyes. He loved those; the smiles that pinched her eyes nearly shut and made her single dimple sink into her rosy cheek. Sparrow bounded up the sandhill towards him, tossing the rocks back into the water and standing next to him by the fire her had made. Bear drew her into his side, enveloping her cold body into his warm chest, his skin smelling like burning wood and cold air. Sparrow loved that she could hide in his arms like some small, dainty thing, and he would hold her for as long as she would let him. His eyes were the colour of the sea on the edge of the earth, the grass sometimes there and sometimes not, and they looked liked glass bottles when he stood in the sunshine just right. But it hurt her to stand next to him, not feeling like she should be there by right, feeling like she was standing in someone else’s spot. So she sat. The stars wheeled above them as the night came tumbling in, earlier than usual because of the changing of the seasons.   
Bear walked down the bank to the edge of the water and shed his shoes, diving headfirst into the deeper, colder water than what Sparrow had been in before, emerging with a gasp and shaking his hair out. She only watched him, knowing he was a strong swimmer and that he would be fine, and admired the way the little bits of light trailed off of him. Bear looked like a painting to her. As he dove back under the water, she gazed into the fire and followed the sparks it kicked up into the sky, blinking out after a short while as stars tend to do. When he came back up for air, trodding up the bank back to where she was seated, he too cast his eyes up to the glowing belt above their heads. Sparrow asked him if he knew any of the constellations’ names, to which he said no, knowing she would happily point them out for him if he liked. It was really only a way for her to get him to stop staring at her for a moment because she couldn’t stand it when he did, it made her feel very small and like he could see every single flaw on her dewy skin. She cast her eyes down and dropped her shoulders, climbing slowly into Bear’s lap and holding onto him gently. He rested his head against hers and kissed her hair, setting his chin on the top of her head. Sparrow caressed his skin with the delicacy of the wind as she spoke quietly,  
“Bear?”  
“Yes, dear?”  
Her mouth went dry as she nestled into the crook of his neck,  
“Why is it me?”  
Bear went still a moment and looked at this small thing in his arms. This small, beautiful thing that had been treated so harshly that she doubted every good thing that came her way. He loved her so, and it broke his heart to see her hurt like this. Bear smiled softly and kissed her forehead before answering,  
“It’s you because I don’t want any different kind of love but yours. You’re incredibly intelligent, beautiful, caring, and I appreciate that about you. I’m proud to call you mine.”  
Sparrow went very quiet for a long time, a few tears working their way out of her eyes and onto his shoulder as he began to rock her slowly. The heat of his skin and of the fire behind her was the most comfort she had felt in a long time from anything. Bear knew this, so he simply held her, feeling her tired heartbeat and her hands trace over his skin reverently. They had needed this reprieve from being so cooped up in town, but it helped more than either of them knew. Bear kissed her nose and relished her giggle,  
“Let’s go home, Sparrow.”


	22. Prompt 22- "There was nothing like him."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Memories at a wake.

Her family was seated around her, everything was quiet at the wake, but tears were still slipping out of her eyes slowly. Elena looked at her mother, her hands clasped tightly around the urn in her lap that the funeral home had given her yesterday. Soft music was playing in the background as she walked over to the old woman in the rocking chair, watching her with hope. She hadn’t spoken in two weeks since he had passed away, and it was starting to frighten her. Elena sat in front of her mother on the floor, leaning her head on her mother’s knee and looking up at her. Her mother’s soft brown eyes drifting down to her to her daughter, watery and gentle. Elena reached up and held her frail mother’s hand, watching her settle a bit in the chair.  
“Mama?”  
Her eyes glazed over and she looked down to her hands where the urn and several of the letters he had written her over the years were, her once nimble fingers curved with arthritis and white as snow. The corners of her lips turned up and into a small smile as she remembered him quietly. Her hands softened and her eyes cleared up for a bit as she looked down at her daughter, her other hand cupping her cheek as she spoke quietly,  
“He was so beautiful, you know? There was nothing like him.”  
“Oh, Mama.”  
It broke her heart to see her mother like this, but she hadn’t heard from her in weeks, and she didn’t want to stop her.  
“He had these bright blue eyes that looked like the sky, and the way he smiled, oh Elena. I hope you found someone to love you like he loved me.”  
Her mother’s hands tightened around the urn and she looked down at the letters, handing them to her daughter and leaning back in the chair.  
“He used to write me when he was away or when it when it was my birthday. I want you to have these, I won’t need them for much longer.”  
Elena looked up at her mother and furled her eyebrows. She didn’t want to know what that meant, but she could feel her stomach drop to the soles of her shoes as the old woman climbed the stairs of her small house. Pictures littered the walls of the house of a happy, young couple with smiles plastered on their faces. At the top of the staircase, by the last bedroom door, was a single picture of the two of them from the day they got married. She and he were seated at a large table, a toothy grin on his face and her in the middle of a laugh that scrunched her nose and eyes up. She placed a hand on the frame of the picture and opened the door to their room. The bed had been made on his side for 19 days now, and it had been cold since she knew he preferred the window open. She propped the pillows up and leaned back onto the headboard, opening the book she had on her nightstand and sighing quietly. The bed sunk a bit underneath her and the page in her hand fluttered.  
“I’m trying to read, you know.”  
A deep, gentle laugh answered her,  
“I can see that. I love the hairdo, sweetheart.”  
Emily smiled over at her husband with his curly chestnut hair and eyes like the ocean. She could feel the weight lifting off her shoulders and she looked over in the mirror, her younger self staring back at her. Her hair was dark like her eyes, and her skin was littered in freckles from getting too much lake sun. Emily put the book back on her nightstand and threw her arms around him, breathing in the oak and rain of his scent and feeling her heart pound in her chest and her eyes tearing up once again.  
“I, I miss you so much, Walker.”  
He smiled softly and nodded into her hair, gathering her into his arms,  
“You don’t have to hurt anymore, angel. You wanna go home?”  
Emily looked up at him and nodded, smiling as wide as the sun and relishing the feeling of peace that she felt,  
“I’m up for a road trip if you are.”  
Walker chuckled and kissed her forehead as the room disappeared around them, a golden field opening up before them. Emily looked out at the sunset and closed her eyes, thinking of her family and the life they had together.  
“We did good, didn’t we?”  
Walker looked down at her, breeze in her hair and warmth on her face.  
“We had the best.”  
Emily smiled wide and gripped onto his hand as they walked, soft music from the wake downstairs playing somewhere in the far distance.


	23. Prompt 23- "You know, if it were up to me, we'd up and run away."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My favourite fantasy.

They’d been laying in bed for hours now, laughing and dreaming of being rock stars up on bright stages and of being free birds. Ellie sighed happily and leaned back on the pillows piled on their bed, looking up at the Christmas lights he had strung up for her, unaware of wheels turning in the head beside hers. Charlie furled his brow and smiled up at her, setting his head on her bent knee and swaying a bit,  
“You wanna go on a field trip with me?”  
She smiled and nodded, rolling off the bed and grabbing a pair of sandals to slip on before they headed out the door. He draped a big flannel over her shoulders and kissed her on the top of her downy hair, helping her up into his truck with extra pomp than necessary, but just enough he knew would make her giggle. Charlie turned the heater on high and rolled his window down, passing her the cigarettes from off of the dash. Ellie stuck two in-between her pouted lips and lit them before they even left the parking lot. She leaned back in her seat as their tires hit the highway, the road singing a song only she knew the tune of. Charlie swore half of her best songs were written in his passenger seat or in the bed of the truck. The sun was setting hot and red out the back glass and she gasped quietly, pulling her phone out and getting a picture before the opportunity slipped away. It was a childish thing to try and keep the sunset because it never looked the same, but she still loved the way the pictures felt. Charlie looked over at her and playfully pinched at her cheek, giving her a quick kiss before focusing on the road again.  
“So, where are we going?”  
Ellie popped a piece of gum in her mouth as she blew smoke into her bubble that had formed, smiling at her newfound talent.   
“I just wanted to go on a drive, and I know you needed some car time today.”  
“Aw, you know me so well.”  
Charlie nodded and laughed at her quietly, watching her prop her feet up outside the window, painted toes pointing in the wind. Ellie wasn’t a child of staying-in-one-place, and she very much hated the living-in-town situation she had to endure, and having to see her cooped up constantly bothered him quite a bit. Her fingers ran through the air and her hair whipped around her face, a whirlwind of sunshine and chocolate. He knew that somewhere, deep in her soul, she was destined to climb mountains and run through little rivers. Ellie plugged in her phone to the radio and turned on slow rock from The Eagles, rolling her head back and singing along quietly. She couldn’t help feeling like she was stuck in a year where she didn’t belong, but it’s such a cliche. Charlie looked over at her now somber face and laced an arm around her shoulders, bringing her close and kissing her forehead before speaking quietly,  
“You know, if it were up to me, we’d up and run away.”  
Ellie’s eyes went a bit wide as she sunk into his lap, looking up at him and cocking her head to one side.  
“What do you mean?”  
Charlie peeped down at her and tweaked her nose a bit,  
“I mean you, me, and a house-van. I’d take you all over the country, to all the beaches along the highway, to every pretty forest we passed by, and to every place on our bucket lists. It’d just be you and me.”  
Ellie looked up at him with crazy hazel eyes that were full of fire and water, and he could see small torches lighting up the empty spaces behind them. Ideas. Dreams. Things that they were scared of.  
“Why don’t we?”  
“Ell-”  
“I’m serious. I’ve got everything that matters at the apartment, yours too, we’ve both got funds, Hell, my SUV counts as a van if we take the seats out. Why not pack it up and just get lost for a while? We could tell Mar and Celia what’s going on so we’d be safe, we’d only really need gas and food money and a bathroom occasionally.”  
Charlie looked down at her, this bristly thing of nature who was so ready to pick up and go with him. He loved her. So, he turned the truck around and put the pedal to the floor, talking quickly to her about what all they’d need to get and what the plan was. He whipped the car into the roundabout in front of their apartment and ran into the house in Ellie’s tow, grabbing a few bags from the hall closet and tossing them to her.  
“Here, you pack up while I go get the car set up. We gonna treat it like a baby camper?”  
“Hell yes we are, what’s our estimate on time to be gone?”  
Charlie paused and looked at her, Ellie’s curls bouncing around her face as she danced around the room. He caught her eye and smiled brightly, sweeping her up in his arms and kissing her like lightning.  
“You’re the boss. How long do you wanna be missing for?”  
Ellie’s smile ran into her eyes as she threw her arms around his neck in a tight hug, jumping up into his arms and leaning back in his hold, kissing his nose.  
“I wanna be MIA for a solid seven days, please and thank you.”  
He smiled at her and put her down, ruffling her hair and watching her walk back to their bedroom.  
“I’ll see what I can do then.”  
“I love you!”  
Charlie felt his heart soar as she said that. It meant everything that she was happy; she’d been so unhappy for so long, and it wasn’t fair anymore. He was gonna make her the happiest girl on Earth, one little thing at a time. She tossed his bag out into the hall, hers following close after, and then a bundle of bedding materials. Ellie sighed triumphantly and gathered up some pillows of varying sizes, following him into the garage and setting them in her front seat. He popped the back glass and waited on her to lift the back seats up and out, covering the holes up with the carpeting and heavy pallets from the bedroom. One more set and the backseats were completely down and out, pillows piling up behind the front seats and their bags moving to the very back by the wheel wells.  
“I’ll set up in here now if you wanna grab the extra stuff you think we’ll need or want.”  
Charlie nodded and headed back inside as Ellie slipped blankets through the headrests of the front seats as makeshift seat covers. She tossed the schoolwork that was in her floorboard out and onto the floor of the garage, crawling out the front seat and prancing back into the house. Charlie was grabbing another bag to put electronics and books in, so he slid her the big cooler that had water bottles in it over to her.  
“I figure we’ll want something for the driving part.”  
Ellie nodded and drug the cooler into the kitchen, filling up the canteens first before turning to the cabinets. She could hear him closing the door of the car and heading back inside, tossing him a lunch bag for him to gather things with. One last glance around the house (and the quick snag of a stuffed animal) gave them all they needed to be on their way. Charlie looked at her and smiled big, her face lighting up in kind as they pulled out of the driveway and onto the highway once more.


End file.
